Ten No Kaminari Hanketsu
by Livathian
Summary: A boy the descendant of the Uzumaki Clan and the Gold and Silver Brothers turned the Kyubi Jinchuriki and struck by lightning, sent to Kumogakure where he is raised and groomed as one of their own. Now Naruto blazes into history as Heaven's Lightning Decree. Animes intergrated into plot: NarutoxSekireixDarker Than BlackxOne PiecexDeadman WonderlandxBleachxvarious other insertions.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... No affiliations to it... No profit off of this... Property of Misashi Kishimoto... Can't I like type this in my profile and never have to again?

Flames licked the air, blazing at unnatural heights. The heat radiated off of them much like an eternal inferno. Once mossy green grass had been charred a crisp black, while some places had become completely desolate of that specific part of its enviornment. Bodies lied around in piles of rubble, a bright crimson leaking from them. Some of the bodies moved every few moments with moans and screams penetrating the world around them. Other bodies lie completely motionless, their skin pale and torn, their eyes lifeless.

Standing high and proud amongst the wreckage that it had created, the Kyubi No Kitsune, t Nine Tailed Demon Fox, roared with rage. Its slitted red eyes roamed the warzone as it reared its monstrous head. Its snout curled as the fox bared its teeth, gnashing thin air at the sight before him. Konohagakure No Sato's Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, stood impaled on one of the Kyub's massive claws. In front of him his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, bared the same fate. Bright red liquid dribbled from the gaping wounds in their bodies, and the corners of their mouths. The red liquid fell from their own bodies onto their child, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze.

The baby slept soundly in an alter that held him in a crib like manner. His eyes remained shut as he took small shallowed breaths. Minato's facial features were pulled taught in a grimacing smile. His wife had given her speech to Naruto. Her final words, uttered with her final breaths. She had taken what time he had planned to speak to his offspring. But it didn't really matter. She had spoken everything that had plagued his mind, and more so than that. And the smile that she held on her face, despite the tears that stained her cheeks and mixed with the blood falling from her mouth. "Naruto..." Minato's voice rasped out lightly. His voice box almost failed him and he clenched his eyes shut in utter pain.

The infant continued to sleep heavily, oblivious to the world and death surrounding him. "Naruto..." The blond headed Hokage tried again, his voice reaching a louder volume as his wife's shoulder shuddered violently. "I'm sorry that this is how life has dealt you its hand. It's unfair. But... then again... Life's always unfair." The Yondaime grit his teeth harshly before he drew in a rugged breath. Kushina's blood stained hands wrapped around his own tightly as his chest heaved painfully. "I'm sorry that I'm... placing this burden on you. The burden of being your... Jinchuriki...

Your mother didn't want this for you... I didn't want this for you." The man's wife released a loud sob as she threw her head sideways, burying her fast as best she could in her husband's robes. "Whoever the man was that did this... The man claiming to be Madara Uchiha... I didn't beat him. I didn't beat the Kyubi. Not on this night. Not when I lose everything dear to me. Not when I leave you, my son, in this cold and heartless world... All alone." Minato leaned forward against his wife's back. He could feel the life draining from his body. He felt tired, and it was a task just to keep his eyes open. His vision blurred heavily as he panted.

"But that's your job. You're going to defeat him, and you're going to defeat... The Kyubi. Only you can..." Minato's blue eyes widened considerably as the ability to breath left him momentarily. And as the function returned to him, he lifted his head to the sky. Cold drops of liquid fell amongst the smoke and sulfur. Washed debris away from the ground, and bathed the dying and dead. The blond haired Hokage allowed a smile to overtake his features. He would die, but he would die on his own terms.

"Look at that... Kushina... Naruto... Even the heavens are weeping for us. Angels crying... Just because we're being torn away from each other so early on in our lives..." Kushina sobbed heavily against her husband's shoulder. Her tears soaked the fabric of his outift, mixing together with rain and blood. The various liquids stained his very being it seemed as his eyes fell once more on his child. "I'm sorry Naruto. We're going to be leaving you now. Don't be sad, we'll be watching over you every step of the way. Believe in me." Minato's smile widened considerably across his face as his eyes dulled to a lifeless blue. "Because I believe in you... Naruto."

"Mommy and Daddy love you, Naruto." Kushina sobbed as her husband nodded dutifully.

"This is it, Kyubi." The Demon snarled with rage burning bright in its eyes. It yanked violently on its paw as it tried to viciously rip the appendage free. It failed considerably as Minato slumped forwards. "Shiki... Fujin..."

From an overview, Konoha burned with a multitude of flames. Building crumbled under the pressure of the Kyubi as the inferno incinerated anything in its path. It ate away at everything that it touched. Bodies lay lifeless as buzzards circled them. Their caws rang out over the warzone as they dived down to the food sources before pulling away, too afraid to actually move in for the kill. Men dragged their blood stained bodies across the dirty Earth floor, leaving blood trails. Men and Women lay amongst each other. Some neighbors that had exchanged pleasantries daily. Other complete strangers that had never before met before their deaths.

Elderly and Youthful held each other as their bodies slumbered. Their souls had long since passed into the next world, but the bodies appeared as if they still held life. As if those beings would open their eyes, smile, sigh in relief, and say, "It's over... It's all over..." But they didn't. And they never would. A bright light flared throughtout the raped village. It shimmered brightly. blinding the shinobi that searched their decimated forces for surviving comrades. Its light bathed the world around it in a silvery glow as the rain, which had just begun to drizzle, became an outright downpour.

The flames battled back against its enemy viciously. It licked away at the drops of liquid as it sizzled and was beaten away. And then, finally, as if by a miracle, the flames were defeated. The rain defeated the inferno and won back the domain of Konoha. The sky flashed brightly as victory thundered from the heavens. A long bolt extended from the sky with a crack of thunder. The bolt was white, outlined in dark blue. It rippled through the air, destroying the particles in its way, before it crashed into the metallic crib like altar left behind by Minato's sealing jutsu.

Silence carried out over Konoha as a whole. Those deceased made no noise for lack of life, while those alive made no noise for fear. They drew in ragged breaths as nothing but the sounds of rain pelting the Earth harshly reached their ears. And then an infant's wail pierced the air. Its vocals carried out over the raped battlefield. The noise brought those with their hearts still beating back to life quickly.

Kinkaku and Ginkaku glanced at each other wearily. Upon their visual appearance, one would normally mistake the two for the original Gold and Silver Brothers. This wasn't necessarily the case. They were directly related by blood to the two, yes, and were called the Gold and Silver Brothers. But that's all they were. Descendants. One of the brothers had bore a heir before their Coup De Tate of the Nidaime Hokage and Raikage.

The Kyubi's malovent chakra was passed down from generation to generation. As it were, it also expanded any directly related relatives lives. Kumogakure's Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers themselves were only the Grandsons of the brother that they had been derived from. They themselves had set out to cleanse their family name. The name that their ancestors had tarnished with their unnecessary ambitions. And the one thing that would completely nullify the damage done to their clan by their ancestors were simple. The delivery of the Kyubi Jinchuriki to Kumogakure.

By no means did the two brothers expect to have been able to steall away the Nidaime Kyubi Jinchuriki from Konoha. Not only had Kumo already tried, and failed, to captured Kushina Uzumaki, she had become stronger. As had her husband. Her husband who, unbeknownst to himself, was the grandson of the other original Gold and Silver Brother. Upon the arrival in Konoha, neither of the NIdaime Gold and Silver Brothers had expected to find the most powerful shinobi village ravished in the way that it had been.

They had arrived just in time to witness the Kyubi rage and lay waste to the land surrounding it. They had decided that the best course of action would to be to stray away from the demonic beast, and feast from the malovent chakra that it gave off. And so they had. They had allowed Konoha to throw its best at the nine tailed fox, only to have them cut down. Had watched as the Kyubi blasted the Earth and those standing on it into oblivion. And they had watched as Minato Namikaze had sealed the Kyubi into his own son. "To believe..." Ginkaku muttered, astonished. "The Kyubi... Sealed into a container who's not only of Uzumaki descent... But the Great Grandson of one of the Gold and Silver Brothers."

Kinkaku's shoulders shook violently as he chuckled lightly. "I never believed that the day would come, Ginkaku. Never even gave it a passing thought to be completely honest. But look, we have a new brother now. Orphaned into Konoha's ignorant little legal system upon the death of his parents." The golden haired man's right hand rose to stroke one set of his own distinctive whisker marks. "Look. It appears he even has our birthmark. How delightful!" Ginkaku shifted slightly as he leaned backwards.

"What're you planning, Kinkaku?" The silver haired brother questioned his sibling heatedly.

"We were sent to capture the Kyubi Jinchuriki and bring him back to Kumo. To clear our clan's name of the disgrace of our ancestors! Remember, we planned to retreat and give the story of defeat. That Kushina and Minato were simply to destructive a force, too invincible for even the Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers to defeat. But now... Now the plan has changed. We continue on with our mission. This time, Ginkaku... This time, the Gold and Silver Brothers are returning the Kyubi to Kumogakure!"

"I'm not sure that's the brightest idea, Kinkaku." His brother spoke beside him. Admittedly, his brother's plan normally worked out in same way shape form or fashion. But at least one of them had to be the voice of reason in a duo who craved the violence brought on by battle.

"Think about it, Ginkaku. Our brother has just been born into this world. He's now an orphan in Konoha's eyes. And a Jinchuriki. A Jinchuriki to the strongest Biju that the Jubi was split into! Jinchuriki to the Biju whose power _we_ posses! He'll be kicked and spit on in Konoha. He should be with us. His family. In a better enviornment, a better village. He'll be a better shinobi, and this world will be a better place."

"Konoha may have just been rocked by the Kyubi. But look at the child in that alter. You can't tell me that you don't feel the Sandaime Hokage's chakra signature heading this direction. We don't have time to take the kid. And even if we did, we'd be taking Konoha's Jinchuriki. Shinobi villages don't take kinfly to that sort of thing, you know?"

"Our mission was to retrieve the Kyubi Jinchuriki. It is the only way we will completely restore our clan in Kumo's clan heirarchy! And he's a relative. A brother. That's no mere coincidence, Ginkaku. If you want to talk reason here, talk reason. He should be in Kumo! Not Konoha!"

"You heard the boy's father, he believed in him! He wanted him here, in his birth village. We may not have liked Minato Namikaze, but he was our relative too. And we should at least do what our ancestors wouldn't and honor that." Just as the silver haired brother finished his statement, a lightning bolt shot from the sky with thunder following it immediately. The bolt of electricity crackled as it descended from the air like an angry god bent on revenge. The Gold and Silver Brothers watched in shock as it struck the sealing altar left behind and, inevitably, the infant inside of it. Ginkaku's eyes hot away from the scene, appalled.

And then the child's wail pierced the heavens above. Kinkaku grinned brightly at the signal of life inside of the altar. "There! Do you see that, Ginkaku? Even Raiden, the God of Thunder and Lightning believes he should be with us! Do you not see it? It's a _sign_." Ginkaku frowned at his golden haired brother's words. He had never been a religious zealot like a lot of the shinobi he knew around the five nations. But he wasn't opposed to the signs sent by higher beings. He saw the whelps and marks forming on the infant's skin from the lightning.

"The Gold and Silver Brothers, descendants of one of the originals, travel to Konoha to capture the Kyubi Jinchuriki and return it to Kumo to restore honor to their clan." Kinkaku spoke with a grin pulled taught across his features. Ginkaku stood straight as he watched his brother from the corner of his eyes. "But when they arrive, the Nidaime Jinchuriki has failed and they witness the scourge of Konoha, the Bane of its existence turn it into nothing but rubble.

And then they witness their relative seal the Kyubi into his son. Their newest brother. But when one of the two questions all of the signs set before them for what they should do, what happens? It seems that Raiden himself sends down a sign that he wants the Sandaime Kyubi Jinchuriki in Kumogakure. He wants that boy with his family. He wants a _true _lightning shinobi. Do you see the signs _now_, Ginkaku?" The silver haired brother frowned deeply as a group of Konoha Anbu appeared beside their new brother's altar. Their weapons were drawn as they surrounded the infant in a square protective formation.

"I see the signs, Kinkaku. But how are we going to retrieve our new brother? What's the course of action that we need to take?" Kinkaku's grin widened.

"That's the beauty of it, Ginkaku. Their village has been ravaged by the greatest of the nine Biju. Their forces are next to nothing. They have no established leader. Their councils will jump at each others throats in an attempt to grapple power in their perilous situation. They won't focus on their new Jinchuriki. They won't focus on our brother. So we simply take him. Come, Ginkaku, let's wait for that old monkey to have his moment."

The Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers disappeared from their observation spot as Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, appeared near his personal Anbu unit. His eyes allowed tears to fall heavily down his face. It was obvious that his soul was burdened as he came to stand next to Naruto's altar. His parents had fallen forwards at the moment of their deaths. And while the infant wailed loudly and angrily, frightened, his parent held him and each other in a loving embrace. Smiles stayed planted firmly on their features as they held each other in their eternal slumber. The ultimate display of love. "This day has done us no favors, nor have the gods." One of the Anbu muttered as he removed his porcelain white mask.

His features, even underneath, were hidden by a black half face mask. His right eye was stoic and black, no emotion showing whatsoever. But his left eye was red, with three tomos swirling around the pupil. Tears fell freely from the red eye and spilled down the man's cheek. His right hand rose and brushed his silver hair away from his forehead, where it had been caked with blood and sweat.

"Silence, Kakashi." Hiruzen spoke sternly as his eyes narrowed at the younger man's words. "It would not be wise to anger any gods at this point in time. Not in the situation that we're in now!" The man, Kakashi, returned the heated stare with his black eye as he stepped towards the former Hokage. His comrades tensed at the sudden motion, their weapons poising towards his imposing figure.

"What gods!?" Kakashi questioned angrily. "Look around you, Hiruzen-_Sama_... Look at this village! The Kyubi swept through here like a pestilence, a disease, a plague like no other! Nothing has come this close to causing Konoha's extinction since the moment Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju founded it! Look at those two humans lying on the ground... I said look at them!"

"You would do well to hold your tongue right now, Kakashi." Hiruzen interrupted as he deliberately looked away from the now deceased Hokage and his wife. It felt as if he was invading their world. Their own personal love, every time he glanced at their lifeless bodies.

"Those two are two of the greatest people to have ever defended this village. And their dead! Dead because the so called _gods_didn't think them favorable enough to save! That man was my father! After my real flesh and blood had taken his life and my own with him, that man made me see the light! He saved me from the same fate as my real father! And you have the gaul to say not to anger the gods!? What about me!? The gods have angered _me _Hiruzen!"

"Enough." The elderly man responded as his nostrils flared. "That is enough. Minato was a great man, a great shinobi, and a greater husband. There's no doubt what type of man he was, or what type of woman Kushina was. Don't you ever insist that I don't realize that. I loved Minato like my own. That's why I chose him as my successor all those years ago, and not Orochimaru. There's no question about Minato's personality, Kakashi. I'm not saying that the gods are fair, either. They took away a great man and a great woman. Their likes may never be seen in this world again. But we can't damn the gods for something they themselves didn't do. Less we wish to be damned ourselves." Kakashi's own nostrils flared beneath his mask.

"You're the God of Shinobi, Hiruzen-Sama. I have no chance against you. And I can't outsmart you. You're as political as they come. I know my place. I'll keep my tongue about my sensei and father. I'll keep my tongue about his wife. Just know this. You're not fooling me. If you've fooled yourself or not, Minato didn't mean as much to you as you think he did. If so, you'd be more in contempt with the gods. You'd actually let those around you know how much you cared."

"I've had enough of your mouth Kakashi! If you can't tell the love I had for Minato, as a friend and a comrade, then you're a fool. And I refuse to breach such a subject with you again. The only time we will speak of this again is at Minato's funeral, when we have the opportunity to give him and his wife a proper burial." As the Sandaime spoke these words, another unit of Anbu landed gracefully on the ground beside him without any noise whatsoever, bowing. Hiruzen slowly nodded his head in the direction of the deceased parent, his expression filled with sorrow. "Take them. Prep their bodies for burial and sustain them until such details can be arranged."

Kakashi watched from his different eyes, both of which displayed different emotions still, as the Anbu bowed deeply before disappearing from sight with his sensei and the man's wife. "And his son...?" Kakashi questioned as he indicated to Minato's child. The boy had, miraculously, fallen back into a deep slumber after he had been struck by the lightning bolt. "I'm no fool, no matter what you say, Hiruzen. Minato and Kushina were having a child when all of this happened. _That_ is his son. What of the son of Minato Namikaze? What of my _brother_, Hiruzen?"

"How am I supposed to know, Kakashi!?" Hiruzen questioned, irritated. The Anbu who still protected the slumbering child shifted uncomfortably as they continued to observe the confrotation in front of them. "I'm no longer the Hokage, and no one knows of his existence yet."

"Good. It should be kept that way! He should be placed under my care and allowed to live a normal life!"

"That's not going to happen, Kakashi." Hiruzen replied grimly. "You know it, and I know it to a greater degree than you. There will be a council meeting soon. A war council. The Hokage, which would be me since I am the only living human to have recieved that title, his advisors, Danzo, Homura and Koharu, and the clan heads. Many things will be breached, and two will definately be placed under a microscope.

The first will be the position of Hokage. Who will take Minato's place? You? Jiraiya? Danzo? It will lead to a dangerous situation where everyone is tugging for power. Minato has left a bomb behind with his death. Its fuse is already lit, the clock's timer just has to reach zero. The second subject will be the Kyubi. How was it defeated? Sealed. In whom? This boy. Why? He was Minato's son.

Do you see where I'm going with this, Kakashi? A vote will spread. Should his lineage be revealed? Is it too dangerous considering our situation and our enemies. More specifically, Minato's enemies. There will be no vote on if his status as Jinchuriki will be revealed. It's almost an unwritten law. They who are the Jinchuriki will be recognized as such. There has never been a Jinchuriki whose identity was unknown to the general public. From there, what do we do with him?

Danzo will want him for Root. The clans will want him married into their clan, or removed from the Shinobi system all together. Those who petitioned to have Kushina's status as a kunoichi stripped will vote for the latter. Some will want him raised as an Anbu. Some will want him dead... _Most_ will want him dead. I will not be allowed to help the boy.

And you? _You_ will not be allowed to help him." Kakashi's eyes narrowed dangerously as Hiruzen lowered his head to avoid the younger man's gaze. "I'm sorry, but it's true. His heritage will be denied. It would be too risky. We're weakened, and Iwagakure would stop at nothing to kill Minato's son. And if we placed him in your care? What would that say? Konoha's Copy Ninja, Kakashi, walking around with a boy who appeared out of no where. Calling him brother.

There are informants in every village, Kakashi. Some times information doesn't get out of the village, but that? That would. And then what? The conclusion would eventually be reached that you are housing the son of Minato Namikaze. This world is cold and cruel and unfair. And Minato's son must brave it all alone. It breaks my heart to know it, and even more to say it... But it's true."

"No. It's not. He could have a chance! He could have family! You just don't want to risk it. After all, what's the point in hurting one more person after everyone tonight, right? Face it. He's just another Jinchuriki to you." Kakashi's left hand slowly rose to his face. His head sat, facing right. Hiruzen's fist remained clenched, knuckles white, as blood began to soak Kakashi's otherwise colorless mask.

"Get out of my sight, Kakashi. Now." The sharingan wielder released a growling like noise as he stepped back. Then, he was gone in a plume of white smoke that dissipated thoughout the air. Hiruzen remained, tears flowing freely down his cheeks like a waterfall in a valley, before he finally turned to the remaining Anbu. "You, Penguin, take this child to a secure building.

Preferably on the far side of Konoha where the buildings are slightly more stable. Then go seek out Inoichi. Praise Kami if he's made it out of this scenario okay. Kakashi is becoming unstable with Minato's death. It may be opening some of his more repressed memories. We may need him to repress them again. You, Dolphin, seek out what members of the war council are left. The advisors, and the clan heads. If any of the clan heads fell in battle, seek out the next in line. Keep moving down their family tree until you find one still alive. Finally, Crocodile, rummage the battle field. We have a few medics out, and there are more rushing to the scene as we speak.

Find any comrades that are still alive and keep them comfortable until help can arrive. If... If they aren't going to make it... put them out of their misery." Hiruzen's eyes clenched shut tightly as he said this. Shinobi had evolved since the founding of the shinobi villages. This was no longer the Warring States Era. But it seemed as such with the words Hiruzen had spoken. He had said them more than once before. It brought him his own repressed memories. "I sounds harsh, and barbaric, and it is... But we should keep the dead on Earth when they aren't going to live again."

"Hai, Hiruzen-Sama!" The Anbu replied simply before they disappeared in their own little clouds of smoke, much like Kakashi did. The Sarutobi clan head raised his hand to his face and stroke his facial hair gently. His features seemed to gain even more unlived years as he walked towards the ravaged village of Konoha. As he did such, the altar left behind by Minato shimmered like an illusion, a Genjutsu, or a hallucination of the heat. And then it ceased to exist. Vanished as if it had never been there in the first place. As if it had never been summoned.

Hiruzen's eyes rolled over the room he now stood in. It hadn't taken the Anbu long to find the members of the War Council. Surprisingly, not many new faces had arrived, which meant that not many of them had died in the wake of the Kyubi's destructive force. "I'm glad to see familiar faces here amongst us. And sorrowful that I have to see new faces. I am, however, grateful that those new faces are here, meaning they are alive. I wish we were here under better terms. But we're not. Kushina Uzumaki failed as Jinchuriki for reasons we do not yet know. And we have just lived through its destructive wave. It is an annoyance that-"

"Annoyance?" Danzo Shimura questioned as he banged his cane on the ground heavily. The noise echoed throughout the room, drawing all eyes away from his life long enemy. "Is that what we call the greatest Biju? Is the Kyubi No Kitsune nothing but an _annoyance_ now, Hiruzen!?" The former Hokage glared at Danzo dangerously. There was no doubt about the man's craftiness. He wanted to obtain something. Hiruzen could tell from the evil glint that shined in his eye.

"I'm sorry if a phrase upsets you in a time such as this, Danzo. But we have other things, more important matters, to attend to. That first order of business being the position of Hokag-"

"No." Danzo spoke, causing his enemy's eyes to widen. Hiruzen was sure that Danzo had been wanting to win the tug of war for power, and claim the position of Hokage for himself. What possible reason could the war counsler possibly have for diverting away from the topic of Hokage? "I wish to stay on the subject of the Kyubi. It may be an annoyance to someone like you, Hiruzen, but it devastated our village.

And we all know you don't simply _defeat_ a Biju. No, it's not feasible, it's not comprehendable, it's not _possible_. The only way a Biju is defeated is if they are sealed. Which means that there is a new Jinchuriki inside of our village. I want to know whom it is, and why they were chosen. I refuse to have such an _annoyance_ pester us again!" Hiruzen's eyes gained an impassive gaze as he stared at Danzo. He now understood what game the man was playing at. He wanted the Jinchuriki, just as he had explained to Kakashi he would.

"Very well, there's no point in putting it off. You've obviously peaked everyone's curiosity. The new Jinchuriki of the Kyubi No Kitsune is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. Son of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, as stated by this birth certificate." The aging man lifted his hand to his wrinkled skull and massaged his temple gently as he listened to the inevitable outrage that overtook the room immediately. "Yes, yes, I know. I know. Please, control yourselves, and let's move this meeting along as quickly as we possibly can.

Obviously, we all wish to be seeking out our families and can't until we're done here with this meeting. So I'm going to lay out what this meeting is for and move it ahead. We're here to vote, and I have already mapped out everything that we will need to vote upon. That being said, we must decide if we will release Naruto's heritage or not, if we should or should not release his status, or plans to fix our military and economy and most importantly, who will be filling in for Minato. Understood? Then let's begin. On the subject of Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze..."

Ginkaku and Kinkaku sailed over the rooftops of what remained of Konoha's archetecture. The two sibling's eyes roamed their enviornment constantly as they observed any and all possible outlying dangers. Shinobi rushed to and fro to the deceased and dying. The smell of death itself stained Konoha and wafted into their brothers nostrils. That in of itself was enough to bring any normal man to his knees with sickness. Moans and groans resounded from collapsed buildings as mothers cried over sons and brothers cried over sisters.

Truly the Kyubi had devasted the village unlike anything else before it. The demonic monster had killed insdiscriminately. Had slaughtered the masses that had mocked it from outside of its containers for so long. It had held its revenge on Konoha with all of its might. Its impact had been felt, and it had been felt quickly. A man stumbled along one of Konoha's roads, almost drunkenly. His eyes seemed devoid of emotion. The man tripped and fell to the cold, hard, unforgiving ground where he lay unmoving. Not dead. But not alive either.

One specific building crumbled under the pressure of the Gold and Silver Brothers as they sailed from it vroken structure. As they passed over the ravaged village, Hiruzen Sarutobi emerged from a building with a dreary sigh. His thoughts had all been confirmed and it seemed that life continued to condemn Naruto without remorse. Less than a few hours old, and the boy had lost his parents, become a Jinchuriki, been struck by lightning and basically had any chance of a normal life ripped away from him by the merciless war council. He squinted his eyes as two rather muscular burly shinobi passed overhead.

It was odd. He hadn't known of any Konohagakure Shinobi with that specific body structure, let alone two. The closest clan he could summarize to similarity were the Akamichi, but their shape was bent around body weight, not muscle. Then again, Hiruzen didn't quite know whom Minato had enlisted as Shinobi of the leaf. With another long drawn out sigh, the man let the thoughts slip from his mind. And then the newly reinstated Hokage set out to find Kakashi. Just because the Anbu couldn't raise his so called 'brother', didn't mean he couldn't keep a close watchful eye on him.

Moonlight glittered through an open window. A light breeze kept the window's curtain flapping gently with a rather soothing effect to it. The moonlight bathed the room in a majestic glow, and seemed to bring a mystic feeling to Naruto as he slept peacefully in his crib. Above him, a man stood erect with a razor sharp scapel held firmly in his right hand. Only the lower portion of the man's face could be seen in the room as shadows seemed to wrap around the upper portion. "I was given a choice." The man spoke silently to the child, as if trying not to alert anyone to his presence. Though there was no one there.

"A choice that weighs heavily on me. The choice to kill you and forever destroy the Kyubi. Or turn you in where you'll be tamed. The Kyubi's power on display for Konoha. I want to kill you." The man stated as he lowered the scapel to the infant's throat. "I truly do. To see you dead is my greatest desire, now and forever! You've taken so much from me. My entire family. My wife, my children, my brothers and sister. My parents. You've taken everything! And it's just not enough!

You want to take more more more! More hate, more souls, more death! You want to live amongst us and then turn on us! Oh yes, he told me all about your evil ways! But there was a flaw in your plan, you see Kyubi? You made yourself weak. Vulnerable. And that is your downfall. As much as I want to see you die... As much as I want to take revenge for my family, everyone's familes, and my village... As much as I want to bathe in your blood... I want to see you caged like the animal you are." With a precise jerk, the right hand hold the scapel was lying limp at the man's side, Naruto unharmed.

"I'm turning you into my master. You're going to be tamed and used as a weapon time and again. You're going to defend what you fought _so_ hard to destroy! And then... Then, when it's all over and done with... When you've been used up and worn out? When you're a broken tool? You're going to be tossed aside. I get to see the Kyubi betrayed, just as it betrayed us with its last 'Jinchuriki'. Power of the human sacrifice... As if a human body could hold a demon! Yes... When you're tossed aside, then... then I take my vengeance. Then I kill you. Understand?" Naruto remained oblivious to the mentally disturbed man whom nodded. "Good. Then without firhter delay, he's awaiting your arrival."

The man pocketed his scapel before he leaned over the crib to retrieve the small infant from within. Before he could do so, a large hand clasped harshly onto his shoulder and sent him sailing backwards into a wall. "And just what do you think you're doing? Touching our little brother?" A giant shadow overfell the man who grit his teeth at the interruption.

"You know not what you do. Move aside and leave so that I may retrieve that Kyubi for my master."

"We can't let you do that. You see, our brother is going to be serving a higher cause. And that higher cause isn't going to be your master, whoever that is." The would be kidnapper frowned deeply. This was not to his master's plan. Not at all. Lurching forwards, the man's fist went to meet the shadow's face. The man bathed in shadows ducked underneath the blow and slammed his knee into the man's abdomen. Said man doubled over before he was pushed backwards by the shadow. He stumbled along the wooden floor of the room before a searing pain rushed throughout him.

A fire seemed to have started in his abdomen and spread throughout his body like his a forest fire that couldn't be contained. Behind him, a second shadow had appeared and run him through with a long, katana blade. The blade was roughly ripped from the man's body as he fell to the ground, the crimson blood quickly causing a blood puddle to from on the floor. "You shouldn't have tried to touch our brother, you imbecile!" Ginkaku stated as he imbedded the katana in the wall.

Kinkaku grinned widely as he kicked the man over on his stomach. His foot crashed down onto the man's skull before he began applying a massive amount of pressure. Leaning forwards on his knee, his eyes fell on Naruto's crib. "Ginkaku," The golden head man spoke, his brother already moving ahead of the other's words. "Fetch our little brother why don't you?"

Ginkaku's large hands wrapped around Naruto's small form before the infant was cradled in his arms. The silver haired brothers lips stretched into a smile exactly identical to his brother's. "You were right, Kinkaku, he does favor us. Especially with those whisker marks." The man's eyes glanced out of the window catching the shadows of shinobi hopping around, still trying to find surviving comrades. It made him realize that he didn't care to be in Konoha any longer than he truly had to. "Kinkaku, let's go home."

The door of the room was blown off of its hinges. Dust and debris filled the air as Kakashi rushed in with lightning crackling dangerously around his right hand. The sound of a thousand birds seemed to fill the air as the blue and white electricity illuminated his masked face. The room was empty, save a lone wounded man who lay on the ground, moaning in agony. A sword had pierced straight through his abdomen. The man lay, almost motionless, in a puddle of bright red liquid. He was on the verge of death.

Hiruzen stared at the man. He hadn't wanted to believe it, but the truth was undeniable. Not only had someone attempted to kidnap Minato's legacy, but someone had halted that attempt and made one of their own. One that had succeeded. The man had almost been dead when Kakashi found him, but he had been the only lead that Hiruzen had on the abduction. As such, he had been healed by medical ninja and brought to the torture and interrogation department. The reinstated Hokage had truly desired a true interrogation, but everyone had been predisposed. And the Sandaime simply couldn't waste shinobi for a task such as this.

"What did you do with the child?" The Sandaime questioned with rage aflame in his eyes. The man grinned, proudly bearing his crimson stained teeth.

"I didn't touch him. And if I did, he would be well out of your reach, Hiruzen. He'd be in the hands of someone who would take him and-" The man stopped mid sentence. Where he had been leaning forwards, he now leaned back, clasping his hands together. "I don't believe that I should tell you anything else. I reserve me rights to freedom, and therefore will await my death."

"Death? You're not going to die. Trust me, I'm not going to allow you to die until I learn who you work for, where Naruto is, and why you did what you did. It would be better for you to comply with me." The man chuckled despite his still recently healed wound.

"That's where you're wrong. You see, my master doesn't want you, or anyone else for that matter, butting into our business. You see, we have a very strict code of conduct. And I'm going to die. I failed my mission, and I'm to die so that I don't speak of my failure. It's something I welcome with open arms." Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. This was a dangerous situation with a dangerous person.

"Who is your master?" The man chuckled through his pain as he glanced towards the ceiling. Hiruzen followed his gaze and released a frightened gasp as he saw the flickering of a genjutsu being released. The sealing was covered with hundreds of thousands of high power explosive tags.

"The man who's making sure you don't get any information. Goodbye, Hiruzen Sarutobi. I'll meet you in the next world." Hiruzen rushed away from the man who smiled brightly as he began to chuckle. The aging Hokage's body smashed into the window of the interrogation room, shattering it into thousands of sharp, jagged pieces as his body plummeted to the concrete ground below. As his body impacted and skidded along the pavement, the building exploded in an inferno that reignited the rivalry between flames and rain.

Civilains and Shinobi released shrieks of terror at the sound of the building exploding. The Earth shook as debris and smoke filtered through the air. "He... smiled..." Hiruzen spoke breathlessly to himself. It wasn't uncommon for Konohagakure shinobi to die with smiles on their faces. Far from it. Most died in tense situations with smiles knowing that they prolonged the Will of Fire. But the man in that building had been under orders of someone, and had failed their mission.

And failure meant death to him and the apparent cult that he had become involved in. And he had smiled knowing he was being killed by the master that commanded him. "He... smiled." It was a thought that would haunt the Sarutobi clan head for many nights to come. The elderly man's remained on the building as the flames were beat away by the rain. Twice in one night. Perhaps it was symbolic. Perhaps the Will of Fire and dwindled down until it had finally been snuffed out. The man's eyes hardened. "As long as there's breath in me, there is the Will of Fire. Straight out of your mouth, right, Minato?"

The Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers landed harshly on a beaten dirt path. The echoes of their footwear resounded heavily throughout the small village they had founded themselves in. The village was bleak and desolate. Completely deserted and void of any life whatsoever, it seemed like a town whose population had simply been wiped from the face of the Earth with no resistence at all. The golden haired brother stalked forwards menacingly, his newest sibling held firmly in the crook of his right arm. "It seems they deserted this village when they felt the Kyubi's Chakra."

The village itself was located just outside of Hi No Kuni's borders. However, It was still bery close to the Fire Nations heart, Konohagakure. As such, it had been one of the small villages who felt the Kyubi's unmistakingly malovent chakra. "Just be careful, Kinkaku. We're carrying Konoha's Jinchuriki around. We don't know if they've already sent forces out to retrieve him, or if they've noticed his absence at all!" Kinkaku chuckled loudly at his silver haired brother's rational talk.

"Let's look at the facts here, Ginkaku. They're so devastated at this point in time that they can't _afford_ to send any shinobi after us after they do realize he's gone! For one, they don't even know who took the kid, so they can't specifically send shinobi after _us_. Second, they need every available man and women out there scouring the battlefield looking for resources and comrades. You also have to take in the body count they had back there.

They simply don't have the forces to do anything but lick their bleeding wounds right now. If anyone's going to ambush us, it's going to be same unnamed bandit hoping to grab a few gold coins in the wake of this disaster. And if someone's ignorant enough to attack _us_, Kumo's Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers? Then they'll just be another unmarked grave in this whole travesty." Ginkaku's eyes watched his brother critically before he slowly nodded his head.

"You're right. I'm just nervous. We're so close, Kinkaku. So close to having our new brother in Kumogakure. So close to restoring our clan's status in the village's eyes. So close to boosting morale with a third Jinchuriki! And all we have to do, is cross our border. We should go now. The longer we're near Konohagakure No Sato, the more we're doomed to fail at our agenda." The golden haired brother chuckled in response again, his shoulder shuddering violently as his chest heaved.

"How can we fail, Ginkaku? You saw it with your own eyes, Raiden himself has blessed this mission. This is what he wants, for our brother to be in Kumogakure. Now then, before we do leave... I think our brother needs a new name." His eyes fell on the childs slumbering form as his left hand rose to take a strand of the infant's locks of hair in his grip. It had changed color since his birth a few hours prior. Perhaps due to the Kyubi's presence, or perhaps due to the fact that he had been struck by lightning upon the sealing alter. His hair had disintegrated from the shocking bright blond it had been to a greyish-white platinum color, complete with a light blond haze. "Hakkinkaku. That sounds fitting, doesn't it Ginkaku?"

"So now we're renaming him?" The silver haired brother demanded angrily. "You heard his father, he _had_ a name, Kinkaku! It was Naruto. You heard it just as clear as I did!" Kinkaku frowned deeply at his brother's words as the true platinum blond baby stirred heavily in his arms.

"No, we're not renaming him, Ginkaku. I have more respect for our deceased relative than that. I may have hated the man with every fiber of my being, but I respect him. He was our family and I won't disgrace his memory. But he'll be part of our clan in Kumogakure. And he'll need a christened name for our clan. A Kaku name. It's tradition, Ginkaku. It's why we were named after our ancestors. That's why." The silver haired brother released a slow breath of air.

"I'm sorry. I spoke too quickly. You're right, it is tradition to have a Kaku name. Hakkinkaku is fitting brother. The Platinum Horn." Kinkaku nodded as he allowed another smile to stretch over taught over his features.

"No, don't apologize Ginkaku. I understand. I'm glad you have so much respect for our deceased relative. Alright, I'm growing sick and tired of being so near to Konoha. Come on Ginkaku... Naruto... Let's return to our home now." The two burly shinobi launched themselves from the dirt path to the overhanging rooftops. Then they were gone, leaving the village abandoned and silent once again.

Kakashi Hatake's sole visible eye, the stoic one, read the list of names upon Konohagakure No Sato's memorial stone. A list of men and women who had all died in battle, who had all died defending their village. One of his own close personal friends, his best friend's, name was upon that stone. His fire had been snuffed out before it had ever truly had a chance to blaze brightly. That wasn't the only person close to Kakashi's name on the stone. No there were many more. One of them a person who had been vying for Kakashi's heart. And now, there would be many more names upon the stone.

Too many to count. They would more than likely have to build a second memorial in dedication to the souls that they had lost in the heat of conflict. And amongst those stones would be two of the greatest shinobi to ever grace the Earth. Minato and Kushina Namikaze. They had been the true bearers of the Will Of Fire. And that fire had been doused in water. Now, only black smoke filled the void that they once had. Kakashi's right hand wrapped tightly around the handle of a kunai knife, blood losing circulation. His knuckles became a pale white as he tore his eyes away from the stone.

The dam that Kakashi had held strong for so long threatened to break as his eyes clenched tightly. Tears rolled from their corners as the silver haired man's shoulders shook heavily. "Contemplating suicide, Kakashi? Gotta admit, I never pegged you for the type." Kakashi's visible eye snapped open and glared heatedly at the intruder. Asuma Sarutobi, the Sandaime's son.

"I have nothing to say to you, Asuma. You're not here as anything but an advocate for your father. And just as I have nothing to say to you, you can tell the same to him." Asuma sighed wearily as his right hand rose to his lips, a cigarette burning brightly as he took a long drawn out drag off of it.

"Me and my dad don't quite see eye to eye, Kakashi. In fact, we're not even father and son. We're comrades under the same family name. He didn't have time for me as a child, and he doesn't have time for me now. I don't know what a father and son relationship is. But you do. You've had two of them. And the recent one that meant the most to you just died. You're hurt, and you need help. You're lashing out for no apparent reason, Kakashi." Asuma flicked his cigarette.

"Say what you have to say and leave." Kakashi grit through his teeth as his grip became even more noticeably tighter on the kunai knife.

"I just did. My dad wanted me to come make sure your alright, and I did. You need help, Kakashi. You may not see it, but everyone else who runs into you does. You should seek someone out. I would. Take care of yourself, Kakashi. I'd hate to see _your_ name on that stone you're staring at." Asuma turned away from the silver haired Anbu member and made to leave, though he halted in his steps. "You never said what the knife was for."

"I was contemplating on carving Minato-Sensei's son's name onto this stone. He's gone now. Maybe forever. I don't truly know."

"You can't carve an alive man's name on a dead man's tomb, Kakashi. Because when you do, that person's dead. The moment we carve Minato's name on the stone, then, and only then, is he dead. He's still alive right now. His spirit hasn't quite been set free. But it will be, soon. You should say your goodbyes while you still can."

"You're more like your father than you realize." Kakashi returned simply as his vision zoned back in on the memorial stone. "He loves you, you know. _You_ don't see it... But everyone else that you meet does." Asuma chuckled at the words as he flicked the cigarette from his fingers onto a piece of charred black grass.

"You shouldn't say things that you don't mean, Kakashi."

"And you should take your own advice, Asuma."

Ginkaku shifted his weight from his left foot to his right. The Yondaime Raikage, A's, eyes shifted over he and his golden haired brother, taking in every detail about them. His gaze seemed to stare straight through their bodily shells into their souls. "You succeeded." A spoke rather softly, a rare trait for the easily angered Kage. Kinkaku allowed his head to nod slowly in response.

"Hai, Raikage-Sama. We've retrieved the Kyubi Jinchuriki. The Nidaime failed as the container and the beast was sealed into this child upon our arrival. He is the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki." A's eyes narrowed dangerously at the child in Kinkaku's arms. The son of his greatest enemy lay before him, an infant, ready to be raised as a Kumogakure shinobi.

"To think, the Kyubi Jinchuriki brought before me. The child of one of my greatest enemies and his wife. Descendant of the Uzumaki clan and the original Gold and Silver Brothers." A stood to his feet and rounded his wooden desk. Reaching out, he took Naruto out of Kinkaku's tight grip, holding him in one hand as he was observed. His left hand rose and traced the scars left behind by the lightning that had struck the infant. "As you expected, he will be placed under your supervision.

There's no one more suited to raise him than actual relatives, whom have power from the same Biju that he himself contains. You may train him, but you will not be his primary trainers. For certain, Killer B will be one. The child will need a true Jinchuriki to train him in the ways of controlling his Biju. B is the only one that is certified to do that. Other than B, I'm not sure who will take full on control of his training. We'll see as he grows. Before I dismiss you, what's the boy's name?"

"Naruto." Ginkaku responded immediately. "His father said his name was Naruto. We heard him. And through respect for him, that name will remain. He will, however, have a Kaku name. It's our clans tradition. He will be Hakkinkaku. But we request he be referred to as Naruto." The Raikage's eyes fell back upon the platinum/blond haired boy before he allowed a nod to respond to the request.

"I didn't like Minato. In fact, I hated the Yondaime Hokage. But there's no doubt that I respected that man. And I respect your requests. In honor of the man who made it possible for Kumogakure to have this ultimate opportunity, we will reserve the right to refer to this boy as Naruto. He will have no last name affiliated with Konohagakure No Sato though.

He is our dominion now. Not Konoha's. He is no longer an Uzumaki in sense of names, as he is no longer a Namikaze. If you wish to give him a last name to coincide with his original, you may. But you will refrain from making it Konoha related. I'm sure you two don't have much of a problem with that. You despise Konoha just as much as I, after all." The Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers nodded in response as the Raikage gifted Naruto to Ginkaku before returning to his chair.

"I have nothing else to say. Ginkaku, you are dimsissed with Naruto. Take him to the hospital. We need to make sure that he's completely stable after being turned into a Jinchuriki and... Struck by lightning, you said. Kinkaku, seek out my brother. While you two begin your lives as his guardians immediately, B will begin overseeing him immediately. Understood? Good. Kinkaku, Ginkaku, you've done your village a great service. You've cleansed your clan's name of the dishonor done to it by your ancestors. I am proud to claim you as my shinobi. You're dismissed."

Jiraiya couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the carnage that had been wraught by the Kyubi. "It's a disaster... isn't it?" The voice was familiar to Jiraiya. Like the warm embrace of a mother to her child was it familiar. Such was the bond between the sanin, Jiraiya, and his sensei, Hiruzen. "All of those flames burned out so quickly. All of those families torn apart. Fathers ripped away from their children. And then their children ripped away from their father's legacy."

"You're speaking of Minato, aren't you?"

"I am. It's why I had one of my personal Anbu track you down, Jiraiya. Minato died sealing the Kyubi back into a new Jinchuriki. His own son. We still have no clue as to why Kushina's own seal failed, and we may never know." Jiraiya's features became even more sorrowful. To him, Minato had been a son, not just a student. Minato was his legacy, and his flames had burned brightest of all. But perhaps the brightest flames burned themselves out quickest.

"And his son. You said he was ripped away from his father's legacy...?"

"His son was kidnapped. We don't know by whom, and we don't know why. And even if we did, there's nothing we could do about it. I'm asking you to search for him. Try to find him. I'm afraid that it's far too late for that, and if you do find him, he'll be in another village. We have no jurisdiction if that's the case. But that won't stop me from asking you to find him. He's Minato's legacy. The heir to his Will of Fire. We deserve to at least know where he is."

"No problem, Sensei. I'll find him for you." Jiraiya responded with a deep grimace set in upon his features. "Now, what about Kakashi. I'm sure he's not taking these sudden tragedies all too well." Hiruzen's own facial features took on those resembling Jiraiya's own.

"Kakashi isn't mentally stable at the present. He's been deeply disturbed by the death of his sensei and father figure, along with Minato's son. He proclaimed hm his brother before his disappearance. As it is, Inoichi is going to fix the damage done. I wish that it didn't need to be this way, but I truly have no other option at the present. I can't have Kakashi going rogue right now. Or ever for that matter."

"I understand sensei. Just make sure that this doesn't came back to haunt you. You've lost Minato, you've lost his son... You don't need to lose Kakashi." Hiruzen nodded solemnly as his white haired student turned to leave the devastating scene.

"Before you go, Jiraiya... His son... He named him Naruto. After the character in your book. You were the father he never truly had, you understand?" Jiraiya halted in his tracks for a moment before he began to walk forwards once again. Silent tears streamed down his cheeks as the image of his student flashed through his mind constantly.

"Yo hey yo, Kinkaku said you need the B, so I'm here as you can see!" Killer B slammed through his brother's wooden door, shattering it into thousands of small shards. A's eyes blazed angrily as he lurched to his feet, his fist slamming through his desk. The piece of furniture shattered in a similar fashion.

"Damnit B! How many time have I told you to come through my door like a civil human being!?" B chuckled loudly as his left hand rubbed his stomach. His brother's eyes glared at him heatedly as he shoved his decimated desk out of his way.

"Yo, you're a hypocrite in office, smashing through your window like you don't even care!"

"That doesn't even rhyme B!" A snarled through his teeth angrily. Truly, his brother's raps angered him. There was no ryhme or rythm to them whatsoever. "Nevermind. Just listen to me, and listen to me _good_, B. Kinkaku and GInkaku succeeded in retrieving the Kyubi Jinchuriki. But it's a new one. An infant. He's to grow up under their supervision. But you're going to help out.

He's going to need someone to train him in controling the Kyubi's chakra. You're the only Jinchuriki that we have that can do that. Do you understand, B?"

"B heard it all my brother! We got a Jinchuriki that needs some training, by the time I'm done with him he'll be maiming!" A's right eye twitched dangerously at his brother's attempt at 'rapping'.

"B?" The large muscular Jinchuriki grinned brightly at his brother's voice. A lurched forwards and grasped ahold of the younder man's face tightly, his nails digging into skin. "Get out of my office! Now!"

So I don't have a lot of time to write now. School's back in (Since Thanksgiving Break is over) and I have a lot going on. But I wanted to try this story out. I was trying to write a Naruto raised by Ginkaku and Kinkaku story, and then a story where Naruto was in Kumo, and the two ideas kinda merged. This is like the third our fourth Prologue that I've rewritten, so I hope you all like it. The name 'Hakkinkaku' is something I coined for the Ginkaku and Kinkaku story.

'Hakkin' means Platinum in Japanese while Kaku means 'Horn'. Naruto's hair is platinum, and blond, but it isn't platinum blond like Ino's. Think of it as kinda white, but with a blond haze to it. That's the best way I can explain it. I'll explain his scars more in the next chapter from the lightning, which will probably be put out with this chapter. I wanna get a couple chapters done before I post this so... yeah...


	2. Chapter 2

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed wearily as he held his head in his hands. Fourteen years. It had been little more than fourteen years since the Kyubi had ravished his village. Since the demon had torn families and comrades away from with each other with no remorse whatsoever. Fourteen years since his successor had given his life to protect their village. Fourteen years since Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze had gone missing. Kakashi had begun a war path in search of his adoptive brother.

It had become too dangerous, and Hiruzen had held no choice but to have Inoichi repress those thoughts from his mind. He wasn't so evil, as Danzo would have been, to completely wipe the man's memories away. But the thoughts that he had been having were just too homicidal to have been allowed. He had been doing well as of late. Hiruzen himself had scoured the village in search of the Jinchuriki, or any information pertaining to him. He had found nothing on him, or the master that that specific man had died for so many years ago.

Jiraiya had continued the search for the boy long after Hiruzen himself had given up. He viewed the boy, who was legally his godson, as his own grandson. Not that there was any proof of that. The Sandaime had had to burn any certificates connecting Naruto to Minato into ash upon a vote from the war council on that fateful day. It was just too much dangerous information.

Someone cleared their throat and Hiruzen was brought back to reality as two genin squads shifted uncormfortably in front of him. "I'm sorry to interrupt your though process, Hokage-Sama, but why exactly did you call us here?" The Sandaime Hokage gave a hum as he reached into his desk's drawer, producing a tabacco pipe. The two genin squads watched as he lit the substance inside before lifting it to his lips.

"The reason I called your two squads here is simple, really. Both have been begging for a chance to prove yourselves with a C-Rank mission. Are you, Kakashi Hatake and Maito Gai, secure in you squadron's abilities?"

"I am." Kakashi responded as his single visible eye rose from the familiar orange book that he was so famously known to be seen reading.

"As am I, Lord Hokage! Their flames of youth burn brightly, especially today of all days!" Gai released an energetic laugh as his right arm thrust out, giving a thumbs up jester, before smiling brightly.

"Lord Hokage, I don't believe that they're ready." Iruka, Konoha's academy instructor, spoke from beside the Hokage holding a multitude of papers in his hands. "They were my students in the academy and-"

"-And that's just it." Kakashi interrupted harshly. The silver haired Jonin and Iruka had a fairly frendly relationship, but this was one of the few things that they often disagreed upon. "You _were_ their academy instructor. But I _am_ these threes sensei. I know the abilities of my genin better than you ever could."

"They're just genin, Kakashi. They can only be pushed so far!"

"I agree with my eternal rival on this matter, Iruka. These are our genin. I believe Kakashi knows Sasuke, Sakura and Sai just as much as I know Neji, Lee and Tenten, and we've been a squad longer."

"Lord Hokage, please reconsider this! They-"

"Enough, Iruka." The Sandaime spoke firmly as he raised his left hand to silence the emotional academy teacher. "Kakashi and Gai are right. They know these six better than you at this point. If they say that these six are prepared for a C-Rank mission then I am more inclined to listen to them. You're an academy instructor Iruka, not a squadron leader. You're dismissed."

"But-"

"I said that you're dismissed Iruka!" The scarred man bowed deeply before the Hokage. Then he exited the room, giving Kakashi a harsh, heated glare as he slammed the doors behind himself. "Now then. As much as I'm inclined to believe in your trust in your genin, I don't feel comfortable giving one squadron a C-Rank mission, so both teams will be accompanying each other on this specific one. Is this acceptable?" The six genin nodded with a humble response, bowing to their Kage. The elderly man allowed a small smile to overtake his features. No, the Will of Fire had not yet quite diminished.

"Very well then, your mission is as follows. Tazuna, a bridge builder for the Land of Waves is crafting a bridge to strengthen their economy. Your mission is simply to guard him back to his home and while he creates the bridge. In essence, make sure that the bridge is completed. It may not have been the mission that you were looking forwards to, but that is the one that you have recieved. Now,"

The Sandaime leaned forwards and called out through his closed wooden doors to his secretary. "Please send in Tazuna to meet his escorts!" Almost immediately the doors slammed opened as a civilian stumbled into the room, drunken. He wreaked horendously of alcohol, and held a bottle of sake in his right hand. Sasuke Uchiha's eyes widened as they landed on the drunken excuse for a man. Quickly, they bounced from the man to his sensei.

"You're kidding me, right Kakashi?"

"These are the brats that you're sending to guard me!?" The drunken man exclaimed angrily as he pointed his sake bottle at the six genin.

"Yo hey yo!" The Raikage's door splintered into thousands of pieces as Killer B emerged from the wreckage. Dust and debris littered the air as he smiled brightly at his brother, revealing his white teeth to him. "You called for the Killer B, cause there just ain't no one like me!" A allowed his features to set themselves into a deep grimace. Shooting up from his chest, he thrust his desk across his office, where it crashed into the wall nearest to his younger brother.

"Damn you! I just got that door replaced you moron! Do you realize how much you cost me in repairs alone!?" B allowed his grin to stretch farther along on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't smile at me you smug ass bastard! You're not going to like it when you're the one that's paying for all the damages you cause!"

"Yo, B didn't come here to you cry, tell me what you want while I bust out this rhyme!" A lurched forwards and grasped ahold of B's face, causing the younger man to flail his arms wildly. "Let go of me yo, I didn't mean to offend you bro!" The younger Jinchuriki escaped his brothers iron grasp and stumbled to the side of the office. As B was able to do this, and hand come forwards and latched onto the side of the Raikage's decimated doorway. Following this, the appendage pulled its owner through.

"I see B made himself known before I could arrive." The newest figure spoke, his voice deep and rather sarcastic at the present moment. A's eyes swiveled to the side as he observed the new arrival. "I'm sorry about that, A-Sama. B somehow alluded us and left us out of the village. I simply couldn't make it here in time to give you a fair warning."

"That's fine... Naruto." Indeed, it was the Kyubi Jinchuriki. He was now fourteen years old, and a genin in Kumogakure Shinobi forces. The boy had become somewhat of a second brother to A. He hadn't truly planned on becoming so emotionally attached to the boy. But, it just seemed that it was what the gods wanted. Yes, Naruto seemed to be just as much A's and B's brother as he was the Gold and Silver's. "I'm glad you could make it to my office despite that fact."

The Yondaime Raikage's eyes passed over Naruto's form, taking in his appearance appreciatively. The boy had grown phenominally under the supervision of his, four, brothers. He now stood at approximately five six, a rather healthy height considering that he was still growing. Though his physique wasn't as spectacular as the majority of Kumogakure's shinobi, he was still very muscular in his own right. His muscle mass was very compact, lithe, much like a samurai warrior. His hair, still the same greyish-white platinum with the blond haze that it had been upon his arrival was rather short. It was flattened out with the bangs hanging over his black hiatate, much like one of the Raikage's shinobi, C. Upon his cheeks, he bore six deep whisker marks proudly.

He wore a sleeveless hoodie that was overly long, the bottom of it hanging down around the outside of his thighs. Over the hoodie, Naruto wore Kumogakure's typical one-strap-over-one shoulder white flak jacket. Making its way around both of his arms, and unseen to the rest of the world, over his chest and back to come up just on his jaw line was a single scar, all melded together. The color of the scar was red, and fern like in the design of it all. It was the Lichtenberg scar that had been left behind by the lightning that had struck him as a child.

Displayed on his right shoulder was the kanji for 'lightning', in black ink. Also bore proudly on the opposing left shoulder was a tattoo of the Kanji for 'platinum'. Underneath the bottom of Naruto's overlong shirt was a pair of black shinobi pants. On his arms, he wore a pair of black elbow-length arm-guards, which he had begun to become attached to after his first meeting with C. Underneath the bottom of the overlong shirt that he wore, Naruto wore a pair of black shinobi styled pants. Wrapped around the thighs of his pants were the two white X's that many Kumogakure shinobi were known to wear over their pants.

For footwear, Naruto wore a pair of Kumogakure's red and white shin guards with a pair of black shinobi sandals. Attached the hips of Naruto's outfits were a pair of Hook Swords. They were from an early era in the world, disovered buried deep in the Earth. Naruto had taken a shine to the weapons, for the sole reason that they could be used as three different weapons. The blades were a dark, gloomy grey color. The grippings of the swords were wrapped with red tape. Attached to the back of his flak jacket was Naruto's prized position. His Dao swords.

Naruto had founded them on an assassination mission, in a secret shrine. They had been weapons to an emperor in a time long before the person whom had even wielded Naruto's hook swords. The Dao swords were moderately curved and single edged. Despite this, a few inches of the leading back of the blades were sharpened as well. The blades themselves were a shining platinum in color. They extended down to a brown leather hilt that was inbetween two pieces of gold. The upper piece was round and branched out a little ways away from the sword. Attached to the bottom of the second gold pieces were red strings.

The hilts of the swords were shaped in a way that both of the dual Dao swords could be placed into one sheath. The sheath that sat on Naruto's back was a beautiful dark brown leather with multiple pieces of designed gold placed attached to it. In all, Naruto's appearance was rather unique to him.

"Speaking of which." Naruto finally spoke under the Raikage's ever watchful, prying, gaze. "What exactly did you wish to speak to us about, A-Sama?" A opened his mouth to respond to Naruto, but was interrupted by a newer arrival.

"Yes, Raikage-Sama, what did you wish to speak to us about?" Yugito Nii entered the Raikage's office through his decimated doorway. Two years older than Naruto, the blonde haired Kunoichi was the platinum blond's greatest friend. The kunoichi smiled brightly upon resting her eyes on her favored comrade. As she came to stand next to the younger Lichtenberg scarred boy, A opened his mouth to respond once again.

"Right. I've called you here today because we've recieved an A-Ranked mission. Normally, shinobi village wouldn't send a squadron of genin, let alone an incomplete squadron of genin, to complete such a high ranked mission. But Kumogakure isn't any other shinobi village." The two genin nodded slowly as Killer B allowed his eyes to roll dramatically. It wasn't that it wasn't a great speech that boosted morale and caused the genin to work harder. No that wsan't the case. But A seemed to recite the same speech every time that he sent genin on high ranked missions. It just seemed to grow stale, like old molded bread.

"We put complete faith in all of our genin. But, as you know, not many passed our most recent genin exams. For good reasons to. We're not Konoha. We don't pick our shinobi based off of who can sort flowers the best. As such, we have very few promising Genin squads this year. You are the most promising, followed closely by team Samui." Killer B grinned largely in pride.

"Of course they're the best, Killer B trained 'em to top all the rest, yo!" A drew in a long breath as he closed his eyes and massaged his temples slowly.

"Yes, well, taking that into account... Team Samui has already been dispatched on a prior mission, and you two have been rather dormant due to your teams recent lost." Naruto grimaced noticeably as Yugito's right hand came up to hold onto her left elbow. Her head turned away from her Kage as she fought to keep tears from falling from her eyes. The death of their third teammate was still very fresh for the two Jinchuriki. "I'm sorry." The Raikage spoke softly.

He was a harsh Kage, that much was true. He demanded that missions be completed to the greatest of potential. But he was not heartless. It was saddening that the boy had been killed so early in his life. But that was the world they lived in. The world of a shinobi. "Nevertheless, I've chosen you two to carry out this mission on behalf of Kumogakure. B, you're not needed for this mission. I have prior arrangements for you that I need dealt with inside of the village." Killer B instantaneously lost his smile and frowned.

"Yo, how are you going to keep the Killer B from being free!? This all sucks, and you know what, I don't give a fu-"

"Shut the hell up B!" Naruto dodged to the ground out of instinct as Yugito's right foot sialed over his head, smashing into their senseis face. It was well known that the Nibi Jinchuriki had more disdain for the Hachibi's rapping than any other person inside of Kumogakure. And she made it known more often than not with bodily harm to the older shinobi. B stumbled backwards into the wall, rubbing his face tenderly as he gave a heated glare to everyone in the room from behind his sunglasses.

"Now that that's dealt with; Yugito, Naruto." The two shinobi stiffened at the sound of authority being emitted in their Kage's voice. "Your mission is as follows. It is an A-Rank as I've already disclosed to you. It was issued to us by a rather wealthy merchant whose identity will remain disclosed to myself and select others until farther notice. He has paid for the assassination of one Gato of Gato Enterprises.

Recently he has come into power and taken control over the Land of Waves near Hi No Kuni. He has put the entire village in poverty, and keeps an iron grip on all of his 'subjects' as he calls them. Normally Kirigakure would have stepped in, but with their recent civil wars they just don't have the time to notice such small details. Our employer has taken it upon himself to inform us that a bridge builder, Tazuna, is crafting a bridge that will free them from Gato's reign.

However, he's grown paranoid and has hired a group of Konohagakure shinobi under the premise of a C-Rank mission. Knowing Hiruzen, he wouldn't have given many questions and will have accepted it as such immediately. Therefore, you can more than likely expect to encounter one, or possibly two, squadrons of Konohagakure Genin. I know because that's how they operate.

Gato normally surrounds himself with the canon fodder. The shinobi and samurai and ronin that just couldn't make the cut. But recently he's become known to be utilizing Zabuza Momochi as a mercenary. You'll need to be careful. I believe in both of your abilities, especially yours as a swordsman, Naruto. But he is one of Kirigakure's most sought after Rogue Shinobi, right up there with Kisame Hoshigaki and the rest of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

Upon completion of the assassination contract, you're being issued a lesser B-Rank mission to watch over and ensure Tazuna's safety as he completes the bridge. During this time, I would highly advise you to steer clear of Konoha's genin squads. They're known to be rather ignorant, and I don't need to get into another squabble with Hiruzen because his shinobi forced mine's hands.

There is no time limit on the mission. But I'd prefer it if you could complete it as quickly as possible. This is by no means your first assassination contract and it should not be treated as such. There are no limitations on the mission, use any and all of the techniques at your disposal if the time calls for it. If you run into a snag in the mission, send word back to Kumo. I'll send either Killer B, or Team Samui if they've returned, to your general vicinity. Your mission begins at approximately seven o'clock tomorrow morning. You'll have set out from the gates by that time. With that said, Yugito and Naruto you are dismissed."

The two close Jinchuriki bowed to their Kage before they exited through his destroyed doorway. A's eyes narrowed dangerously as they fell upon Killer B's form. He had leaned against the Raikage's Office wall and fallen asleep. "As for you..." The older brother lurched forwards, his hand graspins firmly onto the younger's face in an iron claw. "You're going to be reparing all of the damages you've caused!"

B released a startled scream as his older brother's digits dug deeply into his skin. "I've told you time and again that I'm not putting up with this shit anymore! You're going to fix everything because I can't afford to keep cleaning up after you you bastard! You cost me more than the slug sanin's addiction does her! And guess what!? You're going to be starting with that door right there, right now! Get to work!"

"Come on A, this really how you gonna behave!?"

Kinkaku sighed as he rolled his shoulder whilst wincing in pain. A week prior he and Kinkaku had been on a dangerous mission for the assassination of the lord of a village. It hadn't gone completely as the Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers had planned and the golden haired brother had been pierced by a katana sword. This of course had lead to the utter decimation of the Lord's entire manor, including all under his rule. Off to the side, Ginkaku hung upside down from a metallic silver bar, preforming crunches.

Many other villages percieved that Kumogakure shinobi were simply born with the bone structure to grow to the impressive physiques that they had. That was an ignorant misconception. Shinobis such as the Gold and Silver Brothers had to work continuously to achieve their physiques. And even when they had reached that, they still had to work themselves constantly to keep that look about them. Ginkaku took that to new levels, constantly working his entire body rather if he was on or off of missions.

The front door to the Kaku clan compound slid open before their third brother revealed himself. He smiled brightly at his blood relatives as he entered the compound, closing the door behind him. "Good morning." The platinum/blond haired shinobi spoke to his siblings. The golden haired brother glanced over to the clock that hung on their living room wall. It was only eight O'clock. Naruto had been gone for a good week, training with Killer B and Yugito.

"Morning." Kinkaku returned briefly as he stood to his feet while rotating his shoulder. Ginkaku chuckled loudly from his upside down position, now holding a pair of dumbbells.

"Don't mind him, he's still hurting off of that katana sword. You'd think he'd be over it, what with the Kyubi's chakra, but he's still moaning and groaning. He needs to get over it, very soon." Kinkaku nodded dutifully as his hand dropped away from his shoulder.

"Yes, we've recieved our next mission. It's of S-Rank, so we can't divulge any of the information from it to you." Naruto nodded in understanding. The Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers were the Raikage's right hand shinobis. Most of the high classed missions that many would die on from the perilous journeys were passed onto them. "There is no time limit on the mission either, so there's no specified time on when we will return.

We may be back in a week, a month, or a year. You never quite know with these types of missions. Anyways, we've prepared the compound for our absences, so if you'll be staying, everything is where it should be and easily accessible to you. If not, it will be sustained until one of us can return." Naruto nodded in understand as he walked past his golden haired sibling. The two elder sibling watched as he disappeared around a corner into one of the many hallways that their compound housed.

"I won't be staying." Naruto called back to them as they heard him shuffling around in the next room over, Naruto's own room. "I've recieved my own mission woth Yugito. It's an A-Rank, so there's nothing that I can really divulge to you either. Just that I'll be in the Land Of Waves. The mission begins officially at Seven O'clock tomorrow morning, but Yugito and I will have departed around six o'clock. We prefer to have a head start. I won't be able to be reached after that."

"That's fine." Ginkaku called, once again having changed his exercises. He now hung upside, still with the dumbbells, but while preforming his crunches at the same time. "We leave today. Pretty soon actually. We're just prepping ourselves for what we're to go through. Kinkaku his wounds, and me my body." Naruto reappeared around the corner, a black duffel back hanging near the right side of his waist.

"Right. Then we won't be seeing each other for a while. I'm going to train outside of the village. My secondary sensei is waiting on me. I appreciate B's training, but beyond the Biju's chakra, and a few Tai and Kenjutsu moves, there's not a lot that we go over. That's why I enjoy these times with my other sensei." Naruto moved forwards to walk to the door, though he was stopped as Kinkaku placed a hand on his left shoulder.

Ginkaku dropped to the ground, his dumbbells crashing to the floor as he landed in a crouched state. "You take care of yourself out there kid." The silver haired brother spoke as Kinkaku nodded.

"We don't want to have to bury you in the Kaku clan cemetary this early." Naruto smirked as his eyes roamed over his two siblings.

"You should be more worried about yourselves. Take care of _yourselves_ out there. I don't need the burden of having to pay for two graves big enough to fit you two inside." The Gold and Silver Brother laughed heartily at their younger brother as he exited through the compound's sliding front door. Kinkaku sighed tiredly after staring at the white sheet like material for a long time.

"Let's get ready for our mission, Ginkaku."

Tazuna sighed as he staggered for the umpteenth time before he finally fell to the ground. His chest heaved multiple times as he fought the urge to keep from vomiting all over the ground. Surounding him, seven of the eight shinobi that were to accompany him back to the Land of Waves watched this without much reaction. They had been waiting on Kakashi for an hour, and the occurence had happened more and more often as the man drank himself to sickness. A plum of smoke shifted through the air as Kakashi appeared near the small group, reading one of his newer Icha Icha Paradise books. "Hey there team."

"You're late Kakashi!" Sakura screamed angrily as she stamped her foot harshly into the ground. "Again!"

"Yosh! How are we ever going to complete this mission when you're not even going to show up to any events on time, eh, Kakashi!?"

"Hm? You say something Gai?" The bowl cut wearing man screamed loudly and ran circles around the group of shinobi, obviously mentall disturbed. "Anyways, I was on my way here, But a black cat crossed my path, so I had to go all the way around the village. And then when I was almost here, there was a little old lady who I helped cross the street. And tehn? I protected Konoha from an extraterrestrial invasion. I've been hailed as a hero." The group of shinobi stared at the silver haired liar in utter disbelief.

Tazuna, however, nodded sagely from his cross legged position upon that ground. "That... That is a great man... right there." The bridge builder stammered drunkenly as he pointed the tip of his sake bottle at Kakashi, who allowed his eye to crinckle into a u shape. "You people should respect him... more..." The man paused as he burped in mid sentence. "I'm... Let me..." Tazuna stammered as he staggered to his feet. "Let me just tell you... I'm so proud... to have you as an escort. You're a real hero Kazehana..."

"It's Kakashi." Tazuna squinted his eyes at the man harshly.

"Hm... I don't... I don't think so... Let's go!" With a flourish, Tazuna stumbled through Konoha's village gates, collapsing onto his face, where he immediately began to snore loudly.

"... You're kidding me, right Kakashi?" The silver haired jonin allowed his single visible feature to smile at his Uchiha student.

"We all work with people that we don't want to sometime in life, Sasuke."

"Yosh! Tazuna's flames are smouldering! Quick Lee, we must do thirty five hundred laps around Konoha before he awakes! If we can not do that we must carry ten thousand pound boulders upon our bacls! If we fail at that-" The green spandex wearer's voice faded off into the distance as he and his almost clone student raced around the village.

"Case in point."

Naruto placed his duffel back on the ground gently before he unzipped it. His blue eyes observed the contents inside before he removed one. A katana sword. It was sheated in a white scabbard. It had no guard, and its helt was wrapped in a white material, with three decorative diamonds on either side. The sword wasn't special by any means, not to a regular person. But it was a sentimental treasure to Naruto. It had belonged to his deceased teammate. It had been the weapon he had used to slaughter the boy's murderers."Hey Naruto, how's it going?"

Naruto stopped his observation of his precious katana and looked over his shoulder. His secondary sensei, Darui, approached at a slow and relaxed pace. Behind him, C walked with his eyes observing the surrounding enviornment. C was very much an inspiration to Naruto, the two got along very well. In fact, unnofficially, C may as well have been Naruto's third primary sensei. "I'm alive, so that's a testament that it's going pretty good."

Naruto very much enjoyed his times with Darui and C. While not on the brotherly level he seemed to be with Killer B and A, Darui and C were very close to Naruto. It was also a great change in atmosphere. Normally Naruto had to deal with either the temper flaring Raikage, a destructively rapping B, or two slave driving siblings who demanded nothing short of perfection during training. It was more of a lax enviornment when he was training with Darui and C. On top of that, he seemed to learn more from them.

Not that he was knocking his other senseis. Not at all. He learned plenty from them. But Jutsu wise, Darui and C were the ones that he normally went to. Not that that was all they taught him either, but still. It was a nice sentiment for them to know how much he needed them to keep himself balanced. "That's great." Darui returned as he rolled his neck around his shoulder, cracking his neck. "So what was it that we were going to do today?" C looked at Darui from the corners of his eyes.

"Whatever we can cram into this session. Naruto didn't simply come here to chat. He came here to learn and grow stronger." Naruto allowed his features to spread into a smirk. Darui was always so laid back, and C was so serious, they contrasted each other greatly. But Naruto learned from them equally. He had learned how to be a sensor from C. It was a great ability that Naruto had become elighted to have upon later dates in harsh situations. Darui returned C's look with a sigh. Lifting his hand to his hair, he ran his fingers through it before he sat down on the ground.

"I'm sorry if I want to be lax this session. It's not like Naruto can't handle himself completely."

"No, but what if he runs into any Konoha dogs out on one of his escapades?" Naruto frowned deeply. From C, and numerous other Kumogakure shinobi had, Naruto had also gained an extreme dislike of Konohagakure shinobis. To the point that he himself called them dogs. They held no place special in his heart, that was for sure.

"Hey guys, calm down. Look, I have a mission tomorrow, beginning officially at seven. That means that I'll be gone by six. If we're going to train, C's right, we need to get to it. But let's not take this too seriously. I just got back from training with B and I'm getting ready to head out of the village already. Being a shinobi is stressful, so it's not wrong to relax once in a while, C." The blond haired man chuckled as Darui gained a thoughtful expression.

"A happy medium?"

"I can live with that." C input as his gaze shifted from Darui, to Naruto. "So this time we'll be taking hourly shifts training with you. Breaks depend on who's teaching you."

"We'll be picking up on where we left off last time." Darui interrupted the blond haired man whom nodded in agreement.

"Same here. No point in trying to teach you anything too new when you're about to be leaving out on a mission. May as well master a few of the techniques before you get out there again."

"It's been a while for you and Yugito, hasn't it? Since-" Darui halted in his sentence as Naruto nodded grimly, brandishing his katana blade.

"Hai, it's been a while since he died. He was a great shinobi and a greater human being. He's missed. I don't dread over it too long. It's not wrong to grieve, but it's not right to hold onto a person after they've passed on. They can't rest in piece when you do that, and have to remain near you. Sometimes I believe that they die and stay so long as spirits they truly believe that they're alive again. Perhaps some do live again." Darui chuckled loudly as he stood back to his feet.

"You're an odd one Naruto. But I understand that sentament. I told it to you after all." Naruto smirked towards his sensei before he dropped down into a crouched stance.

"So, which one of you is taking the first hour?"

Jiraiya giggled perversly as he stalked through the village of Kumogakure. The sanin didn't have the dignity to chuckle. No, he giggled such as a lovestruck teen would do. His network had spies had recently averted his attention to a rather great coincidence occuring within Kumo. There seemed to be three Shinobi inside of Kumo that beared the tell tale whisker mark scars of the Kyubi. Two of those men were the notorious Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers. The third was basically unaccounted for.

Now, it wasn't entirely impossible that the third was indeed part of the Kaku clan in Kumo. After all, the whisker marks seemed to be hereditary with them. But with the Gold and Silver Brothers being the last of the Kaku clan in Kumogakure, it was highly unlikely that either had bore a child in any recent years, let alone old enough to be a shinobi now. It had piqued Jiraiya's interest. That wasn't to say that the entire trip to Kumogakure was strictly for business.

No, Jiraiya was a man who more often than not preferred to partake in the more pleasurable senses. And Kumogakure was the key place for such. The Kunoichi and even civilian women were more often than not very in shape, and always beautiful. Not that the white haired Toad Sanin had ever had the opportunity to lay siege to one of them. Kumogakure held Konoha in great disdain for many specific reasons, both for business and personal reasons. Yes, Jiraiya had the desire, but the women just seemed to instantly disdain himself inside Kumogakure's gates.

"Training again I see." Naruto grabbed ahold of C's shoulder, vaulting over the blond haired shinobi, before he came down into a crouched stance. In an instant, the blond haired man had launched himself away from the platinum/blond haired genin and was staring at him intently, analyzing the situation. Naruto's blue eyes fell to the side where they took in the newest arrival.

Atsui grinned as he observed the battle raging between Naruto and C. While just a simple training session to various onlookers, it was a fight to the death for the two shinobi. Kumogakure shinobi treated every scenario, even training battles between friends, as a scenario that could very well potentially end their lives. It was why battles that transpired on missions were more readily prepared for by Kumogakure shinobi than any others. "I see you've got a hot battle raging here."

"It's actually rather dull." Darui spoke from the sidelines as he rested against a tree, nursing an obviously bruised and swollen jaw. "But they're seeming to enjoy it, so it's best just to let them keep going." C took the small distraction as an opportunity to rush towards his temporary opponent. Naruto, prepared for this maneuver, met C head on in a battle of Taijutsu. "So what are you doing out here, Atsui?" The blond haired man chuckled softly, not even enough to shake his shoulder, as he smirked.

"I stopped by the Kaku clan compound to see if I could find Naruto. Ginkaku and Kinkaku were getting prepared to leave out a mission and told me he'd be out here with you. Didn't expect to see C here, but I should have. I came to train with Naruto too. You're not the only person that he's learning from, you know?" Darui chuckled slightly as he rolled his neck around his shoulders.

"Maybe not. But your skills are dull, Atsui." The blond haired shinobi's eyebrow twitched dangerously as he closed his eyes, grimacing angrily.

"What'd you say!? My skills are hotter than yours you lazy bastard!" Darui said nothing as his blond haired comrade swirled on his heels, turning his back to the more lax shinbi, while crossing his arms. "Lazy inconsiderate bastard..." A grin spread over the darker skinned shinobi's features as he shook his he laughed heartily.

The Raikage stomped across the wooden planks in his office angrily. Jiraiya of the Sanin, Konoha's shinobi, had shown up in his village, uninvited. The man had even had the gaul not to alert the Raikage to his presence and had pranced around his village, leering at Kumogakure's female population. And then he had appeared in the Raikage Tower's waiting room, demanding an audience with A. A's fist struck out and crashed to his newest desk, splitting it in half. "The nerve of that bastard!"

"Yo bro, B is back from fixing that building, about time you put me back to sword wielding." A glared, completely enraged as B smashed through his window. Admittedly, the Raikage did it often, but it was his window. His property to damage. Not B's. "Sorry about that A, probably should've let me stay! Hey did you got a problem? Your eye's twitching like no tomorro-" A's hand wrapped tightly around B's skull as he slung him around the room like a rag doll.

"You're damn right I have a problem! Not only do I have an ignorant brother who goes around costing me money by breaking _my_ stuff, but Jiraiya of the Sanin is outside of my office _demanding_ an audience with me! I am not in the modd to be dealing with Konohagakure Shinobi!" B lurched his body to the side, escaping his brother's grasp as he stumbled across the floor.

"That pervert is in the building? Let me guess, you need the mighty Killer B to give him an ass wipping! Ain't no problem yo, I'll go break his nose! Let's go see this guy, So I can black his eyes-"

"Shut up B!" The Hachibi Jinchuriki dodged down underneath one of the pieces of the Raikage's desk that was sent flying his way. "I can't have you assaulting him. I don't want to have to deal with the consequences. No, I'll have to talk to him, eventually..."

"Eventually you said, what do you have him doing, eating bread?" A's eyebrow twitched angrily at the rhyme. Now B was just grasping at straws.

"No, B, I don't have him eating bread. I don't know how the hell you came up wit that stupid idea, but I'm not even going to question it! You should take things more seriously every once in a while you moron." The Raikage sighed in exasperationg as he removed his Kage hat from his skull. "No... Mabui's sacrificing herself for the team. She's out there talking to him, and he's shamelessly leering at her. She so calm and collected, but even she has her limits. I'm not sure how much longer she'll be able to put up with the lecher."

Kinkaku and Ginkaku sailed from treebranch to treebranch, their normal attires for missions worn proudly as they observed their surroundings. They had departed from Kumogakure less than five minutes prior and were now setting course for their mission's destination. As they sailed over a very specific, charred, clearing, their eyes quickly examined the scenario playing out below them. Atsui, C, and Darui faced off against Naruto. Various wounds had been infliced upon all four shinobi which included, but were not limited to, kunai and sword incisions as well as burn marks.

Naruto jumped high into the air, overshooting an incoming fireball, before his foot descended down upon C, slamming into his jaw. The blond haired shinobi stumbled sideways, crashing into Darui, who grabbed ahold of him to steady the man. Naruto jumped into the air, his right foot snagging Darui's temple, sending him to the ground on top of his blond haired comrade. The platinum/blond shinobi smirked pridefully as he bounded away from the two fallen Kumo Shinobi, facing off against Atsui once again.

His eyes seemed to meet his sibling's as they passed overhead. Instinctively, the genin ranked shinobi unsheathed both of his Dual Dao Swords, raising them in the air as one as an acknowledgment of their departure. The Gold and Silver Brothers nodded in response to the Hakkinkaku of their clan. Then, as they reenterred the overhanging leavery, Naruto split his Dao Swords down the middle and rushed forwards to meet another fireball head on.

Jiraiya's eyes moved away from the Kumogakure Kunoichi, Mabui, whom stood angrily glaring at the Toad Hermit. The door to the Raikage's office opened slowly and A stomped out, his nostrils flared, before he was slowly follwed by the Hachibi Jinchuriki. The younger man rubbed his face tenderly as he stumbled through the Raikage's waiting room to the door just beyond Jiraiya himself. "You better have a damn good reason for intruding in my village without my prior knowledge of it, Jiraiya."

The white haired Toad Sanin nodded dutifully as he gestured to the Kage's office. The darker man's eyes rolled in annoyance as he marched back into the room, followed closely by Jiraiya. The Sanin's eyes took in the devastated form of the Raikage's office with an impassive face. It was well known that A was a hothead. It was also well known to Jiraiya, through his Spy Network of course, that the man and his brother often got into squabbles inside of the Raikage's office. "What do you, Jiraiya. Hurry up and tell me before I lose my temper."

"It seems you've already done that." Jiraiya returned as A sat down in his chair surrounded by his desk's rubble. The more muscular man's eye narrowed angrily in response as Jiraiya raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. "I'm sorry. I guess this isn't the time to jest, is it? Right down to business then. It's come to my attention that you have three shinobi in Kumogakure with whikser scars on their faces."

A grimaced distatefully as he leaned back in his chair. He could have guessed that that was what Jiraiya had made himself known about. He had always known that Konoha would come snooping for his adopted brother and shinobi eventually. His grimace quickly turned into a smile taut across his features. "Why yes, I do. They all belong to the Kaku clan." Jiraiya nodded.

"Yes, the Kaku clan. It's members had been reduced to the Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers if I remember correctly. Ginkaku and Kinkaku. Where exactly did the third one come from again?"

"The other shinobi is the Gold and Silver Brothers third brother."

"That doesn't tell me anything, A. Don't play games with me. Fourteen years ago, Konoha's Kyubi Jinchuriki, Naruto, was kidnapped, and fourteen years later a shinobi with his whisker marks shows up in a clan who shouldn't be able to produce such at the time being. Where did the shinobi come from?" A frowned as he stood to his feet staring heatedly at the white haired Sanin.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Jiraiya. The Shinobi is Naruto. He is the Kyubi's Jinchuriki." Jiraiya's own eyes narrowed dangerously as he stepped towards the Raikage.

"We sent word to you that our Jinchuriki had been taken away. You never responded. I guess that should have tipped me off, huh? I demand his immediate return to Konoha!" The Raikage's eyes flared angrily as he too stepped forwards, now directly in Jiraiya face.

"You demand!? You don't demand anything in my village! That boy is a shinobi of Kumogakure No Sato! He is a highly respected member of our community! He is my brother and my student. He is also the brother and student of Killer B, Ginkaku and Kinkaku. He is the student of C, Atsui and Darui. He is a member of Kumo's Kaku clan. You have no jurisdiction here, and Konoha has no domain over him. You can't touch him, and if you do, we declare war."

"Do you really want to do that!?" Jiraiya snarled in A's face. "That boy is the heir and legacy to Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki!"

"I'm well aware." A returned as he shoved the Toad Sanin away from his personal space. "Not only was that information relayed to me, we used blood samples extracted from battle fields to prove such. But you can't prove it. I know Konoha. You would have destroyed all documentation to _protect_ him. Only Kumogakure has that information readily available, and that's not something we're willing to give out to the general public. He is also the the descendant of one of the Gold and Silver Brothers.

_And_ has a direct relationship to another clan inside of this village. Simply put, his family is in the village. All of his other true relatives are dead. He belongs here, with us." Jiraiya shook his head angrily as his fist slammed into the Raikage's wall, crumbling it.

"No. He's my godson and he belongs in Konoha where I can keep a watchful eye on him! Where his _true_ brother Kakashi can watch over him!" The Raikage smirked darkly as shadows overcast his eyes.

"Maybe you two should have been watching him when he needed you most. But you weren't."

"I can talk to him, convince him. If he asks for discharge and to be transfered, there's not much you can do about it."

"Good luck with that!" A's voice boomed loudly as he gripped his abdomen, laughing. "Naruto hates Konoha! With all of his being! He believes you all to be dogs. Go, go and find him! He'll tell you just the same and turn you away. You hold no place in his heart. _Konoha_ holds no place in his heart. Only Kumo, and those allied to it. _Konoha_ is not allied to us, and even if it were, like I said, you're nothing but dogs to him. Now get out of my office! I'm beginning to become sick looking at your face!"

Jiraiya's nostrils flared angrily as he glared at the Raikage. "This isn't over." The white haired Sanin growled through his gritted teeth, before exiting through the Raikage's double doors, slamming it closed behind him. A smile pulled taut over the muscular man's features as he began to laugh loudly. If Jiraiya truly believed that he could change Naruto's heart, then he was a greater fool than A took him for.

Naruto panted as he held a cold, prespiring bottle of water to his lips. C, Atsui and Darui all sat around the platinum/blond haired shinobi, all drinking their own respective beverages. "You've improved a lot since you left with B-Sama, Naruto." C spoke breaking the silence. Darui nodded in response as he took his place near a tree, leaning his head back against it.

"You pulled off some pretty hot combos." Atsui added as a smile graced his features. He liked training with Naruto. Their personalities, for the most part, contrasted each other. That hadn't stopped them from becoming close friends and comrades however. Darui closed his eyes upon the scene, thinking to himself. Naruto was close to many shinobi within Kumogakure. Many of the more well known shinobi.

And the relationships were either a brother sibling relationship, or close friends relationship. Darui knew that Naruto hadn't been born inside Kumogakure's gates. Many didn't, but he did. And it didn't matter. Naruto just seemed to belong in Kumogakure. He fit in perfectly with all of their shinobi. And it wasn't just the shinobi population that he was popular with. It was also the civilian population. They had been skeptical of him, and at that time Yugito, with them being Jinchuriki.

But with Killer B and the Gold and Silver Brothers claim to fame, so to speak, the civilian populace had given them a chance. And Naruto had become a highly respected figure in the Kumogakure community. One of the highest, as a matter of fact. It was strange, considering he was only of genin rank. But he had earned every ounce of respect that was garnered towards him from Kumo.

The dark skinned shinobi allowed a smile to overtake his features as Naruto unlatched his Hook swords from his waist, watching Atsui intently. "So let's pick up on what we were training on before you left." Atsui spoke to Naruto as the platinum/blond haired shinobi tossed one of the weapons to his comrade.

Hiruzen sighed tiredly as he rubbed his temples. Maito Gai had reported to him sometime ago that their client, Tazune, had passed out from alcohol consumption. As such, there departure for the mission to officially begin had been put off into the following day. The Sandaime didn't quite understand it. Fourteen years ago Konoha had been on top of the world and had recieved only cream of the crop missions. But now? Konohagakure No Sato were lucky to recieve the canon fodder.

And Kumogakure No Sato recieved the cream of the crop. They produced shinobi at a rate even slower than Konoha's, but the quality of them far surpassed Konoha's own. Their current economy seemed unmatched by any of the other four elemental nations. The Hokage knew that if events continued at the current place, Kumo would eventually take Konoha's place as the strongest elemental village. His eyes fell on the paperwork sitting before him and he released a dreary breath from his lung, bringing his tabacco pipe to his mouth.

He had one major chance to bring attention back to Konoha. The Chunin Exams. If he could get his Genin to outshine the other villages, especially Kumo's, then clients would come flocking to Konoha with mission requests. But that was easier said than done. Besides the numerous off villages that attended, it was never a sure fire thing that all villages would attend. Off the top of the Sandaime's head, he was sure that Kirigakure would be absent, what with their recent Civil War having just come to an end.

And then there was the mysterious inclusion of the 'Village Hidden In The Sound'. Sarutobi didn't quite know what it was, but something made him weary about the newest entry. It had reared its head just before the announcement that the exams would be held in Konoha. And The Sandaime had no idea on any of the village's statistics. It was new, so it definately wasn't recieving any missions at this point. So if it was a legitimate attempt to start a new nation, they would come and attack with everything that they had to draw in clients.

The Sandaime's eyes lifted from the papers to stare at the three deceased Kage's that had shared his title. His gaze lingered over the intense blue eyes of Minato Namikaze. He closed his eyes briefly as he stamped his tabacco pipe out. He didn't think of Minato's son much anymore. In fact he was mostly a fleeting thought now. A distant memory at most. He'd probably never meet the young boy, considering if he was still alive. "What would you have done in my position, Minato?" The picture was unresponsive, but the answer was relatively clear. Everything. Minato Namikaze would have done everything, because that was the type of man he had been.

Jiraiya stomped through the village, grumbling angrily to himself. He truly needed to leave the village of Kumo before he cause an international crisis. But he didn't quite plan on it. No, that wasn't the type of man that Jiraiya of the Sanin was. He was the type of man that would hunt his Godson down until the day he died. And then when he found him, he would talk to him and convince him of his right to belong in Konoha, not Kumo.

The white haired man halted immediately in his tracks as the boy he had been thinking of had appeared around the corner of a dango shop. His figure, for the most part, was rather intimidating. So it wouldn't be a surprise to Jiraiya if he was highly respected as A had suggested. He winced slightly as his eyes danced over the Lichtenberg scars that rippled across his skin, and underneath his two tattoos.

Jiraiya would have mistaken him for someone else because of his hair alone, if not for the whisker marks that he bore proudly upon his cheeks. It was neither of the Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers, that much was for certain. Jiraiya had met them both, and their stature towered over the platinum/blond that stood before him. Jiraiya raised his hand slightly and made to call his name. His voice died in his throat.

A smile stretched over Naruto's features as three men rounded the corner behind him, followed quickly by a girl with her blonde hair styled in a ponytail. The three men talked to Naruto obviously complimenting him as the blond chuckled, his shoulders shaking visibly. His right hand rose and scratched the back of his head as he exchanged a few more pleasantries with the men. Then he shook hands with all of them and they departed, waving at him from over their shoulders. The blonde next to him smiled gently.

Naruto glanced to her, returning the gesture, then peeled back the flaps of the dango shop's entrance. The girl nodded in response, saying something that the Toad Sanin didn't quite catch, before she disappeared into the restraunt. She was quickly followed by Naruto who laughed as someone called his name excitedly from inside the dango shop. Jiraiya grimaced as he stepped backwards in the direction opposite the shop. It wouldn't do any good to disturb him now.

At Six O'clock the next morning, Naruto and Yugito stood side by side at the village gates, dressed in their normal attires. Naruto chewed anxiously on a senbon needle, a habit he had picked up from his teammate after the later's death. Yugito looked over at him and smiled gently, as she was known to do. "Are you ready, Naruto?" The platinum/blond haired genin nodded slowly as he removed the senbon needle from his mouth.

Behind them, B stood proudly on the otherside of the gates, beaming at his two pupils. "You two come back in one piece, not like swiss cheese!" Yugito snarled in anger as she glared at her sensei over her shoulder.

"Shut up B!" The dark skinned man chuckled as he grinned, waving at the two. Yugito's gaze fell away from one highly respected Jinchuriki to the next. The senbon needle was being rotated in Naruto's right hand constantly. His blue eyes stared ahead of them, seemingly in a daze. She knew better. Naruto was an excellent sensor shinobi and he was marking the best path through the forest towards their destination. Then he seemed to snap back into reality, his eyes steeling as he dropped down into a crouch.

"Let's move." The two shinobi shot forwards into the overhanging treebranches at breakneck speeds.

Tenten sighed boredly as she hung upside down from a tree branch. Below her, Lee was claiming both Neji Hyuga and Sasuke Uchiha to be his eternal rivals, Gai crying streams of tears in 'pride'. Sakura stomped to and fro, angrily, and Sai just stood smiling creepily at everyone. Their client, Tazuna, stumbled to and fro, already drunken once again. They had agreed to depart at seven o'clock. It was now nine, and Kakashi was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, a plume of smoke floated through the air and he was suddenly standing near Tenten's upside down head.

"Good morning." The Jonin spoke as his single visible feature indicated that he was smiling. Sakura growled angrily and lurched forwards, graspin ahold of the silver haired man's green vest.

"And where the hell have you been!?"

"Hey!" Tazune called as he fell on his butt, burping. "That's... that's no way to talk to... to um... Oh, to the guy who saved your village from... from the aliens!" The silver haired Jonin's mask indicated that his smile was widening as he took Sakura's wrist, removing her hand from his clothing.

"Thank you Tazuna-San. And if you must know, I set my alarm clock for five, but the aliens I beat yesterday sent for reinforcements and they set it for eight to sabotage me. So I had to track them down and beat them again so they got the message not to be in my village anymore. And I was on my way here after being crowned their all time ultimate king out of repect when, wouldn't you know it, I came across a cat and a kite both stuck in a tree with two children trying to retrieve them.

"Naturally I could get the cat _and_ the kite at the exact same time so I retrieved the cat and then the kite. And so I carried on my way until I sprained my ankle walking. And when I looked up, I saw the promotional poster for Jiraiya-Sama's newest book. Well that was fate decreeing that I needed that book so I had to wait fifteen minutes in line. And here it is now." Kakashi produced his newest treasure from his back kunai pouch as those around him stared at him in pure astonishment.

"Yosh! My eternal rival is so hip and youthful! Lee, don't let your rivals upstage you like this! Drop and give me twenty five thousand push ups!" Tazuna nodded sagely from his place on the ground, in a deja vu of the day prior.

"You people... need to give this man more... more respect... He is... He is amazing! Bravo! Bravo Kakashi-Sama!" Tazuna jumped to his feet before he staggered over to the silver haired man, shaking his hand emphatically. The he rushed through the village gates. "Now what are we waiting for!? Let's... Let's go-" The drunken man tripped over his own feet, skidding across the ground. Tears welled in his eyes as he forced himself into a sitting position. Sasuke glanced to his sensei as he opened his mouth to speak.

Kakashi glared harshly as his nostrils flared underneath his mask. "No Sasuke, I'm not fucking kidding you!"

"Yosh! So Hip! Lee-" One of Tenten's various large two handed weapons crashed into Gai's skull, sending him to the ground as she stalked past. The rest of the group marched forwards, leaving Tazuna and Gai to rush after them all with immediate haste.

Zabuza Momochi slowly raised his head, his eyes blazing. He didn't quite know what was coming, but whatever it was it was big. The rogue Kirigakure Shinobi could feel it in his bones. He was going to finally have that battle he had been looking for. A true test for his strength. His hand gripped the hilt of his Kubikiribocho tightly. Tight enough to turn his knuckles a pale white. "This isn't just the calm before the storm..." Zabuza spoke to himself, his apprentice's eyes glancing to him questioningly. The younger knew better than to question his master, however, and returned to their own agenda.

"No... This is the calm before the Maelstrom."

And that's it for this chapter. I'm pretty sure I'm rather happy with how it came out. So here's some things about Naruto. He's gonna know a lot of Ken and Taijutsu. His affinities are gonna, for sure, be Lightning and Fire. Just because that's what I want. If you want a picture of the Dao sword, just look up Zuko's from Avatar The Last Airbender. They should be pretty close I think. As for the hook swords, any would do really.

As for Naruto's appearance, here's what it looks like in an easier description. His hair is similar in style to C's, from the manga, not the anime. His shirt is basically Omoi's, just without sleeves. The handguards are C's basically. I like the way they looked. For his pants you can basically look at any Kumo's pants, but Omoi's is the one I was thinking of. And you can look at any Kumo shinobi with their flak jacket and shin guards.

Now for a few explanations. Naruto's tattoos. See, Naruto is the Hakkinkaku, or 'Platinum Horn', of the Kaku clan. So in correlation with his brothers who have the kanjis for gold and silver on their shoulders, I placed platinum on Naruto's. The reason I chose his left is because I was thinking that Kin was the biggest of the three and had his on the right. Gin was the second biggest and had his alternated on the right.

So as process of elimination, it would alternate back to Naruto for his tattoo. I did the same thing for the lightning tattoo. It started on the Raikage's right shoulder, alternated to Darui's left, and so I alternated it back to Naruto's right. You _could_ look up some Lichtenberg scars, I know they have some on google, but I wouldn't suggest it. Some of the pictures are purely gnarly. But if you do look, there is a picture of a guy's arm with the scar and that was the specific design I was thinking of.

Also, on a different matter, I have no pairing set up for this story. None whatsoever. I didn't really come into this with a gameplan, just the idea of making Naruto a Kumo shinobi. That's kinda how I do all of my fanfictions. And it shows a lot of times because I don't plan anything out, I just move the story along as I type. I dunno, that's just how I do it. Anyways, I hope you people have liked my positive portrayal of Minato and Kushina. You people swear up and down I hate them so much I figured I'd disprove that statement.

Anyways, that's pretty much it guys. If you have any ideas for the story, PM me. I'm still not sure if I'm posting yet or writing a few more chapters so there may be another chapter to coincide with the first two, I don't quite know yet...


	3. Chapter 3

Hiruzen paced back and forth in his office, angrily. If there was one thing the Sandaime Hokage had an extreme dislike for, it was lying. And that was exactly what Tazuna the Bridge Builder had done to him. Reports had been brought to the Hokage's attention that the Land Of Waves had recently been takne over by Gato Enterprises and shoved into poverty. So the Sandaime had sent two fresh Genin squads out on a mission under the premise of a C-Rank when it was easily a B-Rank.

The dangers that it entailed were perilous. Gato was an ambitious man, and ambitious men did everything they could to keep power in their grasps. Hiruzen knew. He had dealt with Danzo for far too many years not to. So now he was faced with a dilemma. The probablity of the genin squadrons being attacked by high ranked mercenaries were five to six. Those were odds that the Sandaime could afford to gamble with. So he needed to send a third squadron to retireve them, or at the very least participate untl the completion of the mission.

But that was where Hiruzen ran into a snag. He couldn't send out a higher squadron, no matter the circumstances. Kumogakure were notorious for sending genin out on A-Rank and higher mission, and it would severely cripple Konoha if word got out to clients that a squadron of Jonin had been sent out to complete a C-Rank mission, no matter the circumstances. The Hokage was a kind hearted man, yes, but he was also a military ruler and could not allow his village to become extinct.

That only left him with one choice. To dispatch yet another group of genin. He didn't like the thought of sending more sheep to slaughter, but he had no choice. Compared to Kumo, for every shinobi they had put out in their Academy graduation, Konoha had produced four more. There were plent genin running around the village. It was harsh to face the truth that they were nothing but pawns doing the kings bidding, but that was reality. And reality dictated that they would either come together and complete the mission as Sarutobi hoped they could, or they would die for the betterment of their village.

His old eyes glanced out over his village. The sun shined brightly over Konohagakure No Sato. Children ran to and fro, giggling and laughing loudly as they played 'Ninja Tag'. Civilians ran through the market place trying to grab all of the ingredients for their nightly suppers. Shinobi launched themselves from rooftop to rooftop in an attempt to reach their destinations quicker. The aging man's eyes closed tiredly as he sagged down in his chair. "I only hope that I'm not too late..."

Kakashi's chest heaved painfully as he sat suspended in the air ine a sphere of liquid. Zabuza Momochi stood next to him, his arm plunged through the liquids, as he laughed sadistically. Before them, one clone held Maito Gai's head in the hole in Kubikiribocho's blade whilst another advanced on their Genin and their client.

The mission had been rather uneventful the first day. But then they had crossed a puddle of water. Odd, considering that that specific area had been in a draught for months. And when they had reached the puddle, two of Kirigakure's missing ninja had appeared and shredded Kakashi to pieces. Well, would have if he hadn't had the instincts to swap places with a log. He had planned on testing his genin, but Gai just couldn't let one of his plans go off without a hitch. No, he and his little clone had rushed the brothers and defeated them, with alittle help from Sai.

It was sad to say that Sakura had immediately frozen up upon seeing her sensei ripped to pieces. But, that incident had immediately set bells off in Kakashi's head. He had questioned Tazuna relentlessly until he spilled his guts out to them, giving them a typical sob story of what had happened to his village. Naturally, Kakashi had wanted to leave and return home. This wasn't, after all, what they had been paid to do. The appearances of the Demon Brothers had bumped the mission priority up to B-Rank by itself.

But the silver haired Jonin had allowed a vote to be spread to determine if they continued or if they returned. He and Sakura had been the only two to vote to return back to Konoha. As such,Kakashi had simply allowed the mission to progress as planned. Until Kubikiribocho almost decapitated them all as Zabuza sent it sailing at them from trees. They had ducked, and a battle had immediately ensued between Gai and Kakashi versus Zabuza. It was said to say that the Demon of the Bloody Mist had completely decimated the two Jonin.

And now one of his clones beared down on their genin. Sakura, Tenten and Lee all stumbled back, frightened. Tears threatened to spill from the pink haired girl's eyes as Sasuke, Neji and Sai stood with their shoulders touching each other in front of their client. But as the clone approached more quickly with his own Kubikiribocho, the killing intent placed upon them became harsher and harsher. Harder to bear with every passing second.

Kakashi knew. He had been in that situation before, many times. Especially during the Third Great Shinobi War. "Sasuke, Sakura, Sai!" The silver haired man's genin stared at him, fear evident in two of their eyes. "Run! I don't blame you for it! I demand it! He's too strong for any of you!" Neither Sai nor Sasuke backed down as Neji dropped into a low crouch, veins bulging violently around his eyes.

"The same for you three! Lee, take the Genin and run! His clone can only followw you so far before it deginerates! It can only go a certain distance before the flow of chakra to it is cut off!" The words of the boy's sensei seemed to pass straight through Lee's ears as he watched Zabuza's clone approach, mortified.

"Sasuke! Sai! Do you remember when I said as your sensei I knew your limits!? I do! And this is too ffar beyond your limits! Take the rest of the Genin and get back to Konoha! Get reinforcements! Now! That's an order!" Sasuke finally allowed himself to stumble back, though he fell onto the ground, as the clone was finally standing in front of the three brave boys. The bandages around his face stretched indicating that a smile had overtaken his features.

"That's right little brats... Run away. Run away so I can kill you client and Senseis in peace. I'll be after you in about five minutes." Tenten released a choked sob as she fell to her knees. She knew much about the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. She knew that the squadrons that had been dispatched for this mission were not enough for the man standing before them. She knew that they were going to die.

The clone's Kubikiribocho raised high into the air as a sadistic pleasure entered both of his eyes. "Let the slaughtering... Commence!" The blade descended in and arch through the air, prepped to cleave the terrified bridge builder in two. The weapon never met its mark. A new figure appeared, the very end of a hook sword traveling through the clone's Kubikiri before it was yanked violently. The sudden intrusion sent the unprepared clone stumbling. As it did so, A second figure rushed from the treeline, a kunai slamming into the clone's face.

It quickly desintegrated into water. Zabuza's real eyes widened angrily as the wielder of the hook sword stood to his full height, rolling his neck with loud cracking noises. Then his eyes fell on Zabuza, a shocking electric blue. Zabuza's remaining clone was not one that liked being tempered with. With a harsh pull, Maito Gai slammed into a tree, knocking all oxygen from his body before the Zabuza clone rushed forwards to engage in combat.

The new sword wielding arrival met him head on. While the figure evidently had two Hook swords, he only used one in this particular battle. Kubikiri arched over his head as he ducked down. He sturck out with his right leg, though the clone jumped away in an attempt to keep himself in a tangible form. His opponent launched himself from the ground, using his momentum to spin in the air and aim a kick at the clone's head.

The Zabuza clone clocked his head to the right, avoiding what would have been a lethal blow to it, before it pulled its Kubikiri through the air. With the new arrival still airborn, it was a sure fire for him to be cleaved in two. Or would have been. With practiced ease, Zabuza's clone's opponent grabbed ahold of the sharp side of the Kubikiribocho and launched himself off of the blade. The weight distribution sent the clone stumbling forwards with an enrage snarl. With a noticeable grunt, his sword swung sideways through the air in yet another attempt to cleave his opponent in half.

It failied again as his opponent launched himself back into the air, spinning over the blade, before he came back to his footing on Earth. Then, his hook sword struck out and grabbed the inside of Kubikir's hole, yanking the blade forwards. As the clone stumbled once again, his opponent seized the opportunity as unsheated what appeared to be a Dao Sword. Then he allowed it to behead Zabuza's clone. The head sloshed to the ground, followed quickly by the body and sword as the new arrival twirled his dao and hook sword expertly before returning them to their predetermined destinations.

His apparent partner came to stand next to him with a confident smirk as they glared heatedly towards the rogue Kirigakure swordsman. "We can't allow you to do that, Zabuza." A tingle went up the Demon of the Bloody Mist's spine. This was it. He had been certain when he laid his eyes on Kakashi and Gai that they had been the ones that he had been anticapting battle with. No, it was the platinum/blond haired boy that now stood before him after having dispatched two of Zabuza's clones.

"And just who the hell do you runts think you are to tell me who I can and can't kill, hm?" The platinum/blond haired shinobi chuckled as Kakashi took in the newest arrival's figures. They were from Kumogakure. That definately wasn't the greatest reinforcements that could have arrived at their current moment. Kumo and Konoha were on very shaky grounds. Especially considering that, more often than not, Kumo Shinobi hated Konoha shinobi's guts.

"Who are we? What does it matter who we are, Zabuza? We're not here to make aquaintences. We're not here to make friends. We're here to do one simple mission. Assassinate your employer and make sure that the man you just tried to kill lives long enough to complete his bridge so that the Land of Waves can escape poverty." Kakashi's eyes zoned in on the boy's whisker marks.

He vaguely recalled his sensei's son wielding whisker marks on his cheeks when he had been allowed to lay eyes on him as an infant. It took a jab at his heart. He didn't believe that the person in front of him was his sensei's son. No, the kaku clan in Kumo were well known for having whisker marks passed down inheritedly. It was only a fool who would go chasing straws that small. And Kakashi wasn't quite a fool. not any longer. He had wisened up long ago about things such as that. But still, it stung his heart to see a boy before him that appeared to be of the same age that his 'brother' would have been.

"Big words coming from a small maggot." Zabuza called back to the young man. Secretly, a bead of sweat dribbled down the side of his face. This hadn't been expected. There had been no sighting of any Kumogakure shinobi any recent months anywhere near the Land of Waves. It was completely ludicrous for them to have come out of nowhere and ruin all of the careful planing that he had worked so hard to get right. The platinum/blond haired shinobi chuckled once again as he shook his head at Zabuza.

"And that's a lot of shit coming out of your mouth." The Kumogakure shinobi returned as he stepped forwards, the genin behind him watching pertified as his partner continued to smirk. "I'm not as ignorant as these Konoha dogs behind me, Zabuza." Those that were indeed behind him glared hatefully at being referred to as dogs. "I know the dimensions of the jutsu that you're using. I had it used on me personally a long time ago.

"See, it's simple really, You're holding Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Dog of Konoha, in that prison. But only under the circumstance that you have your arm in place. If you have to jump or duck, that's fine. But your arm has to be in place. If you remove your arm from the prism, then the prism disappears you see? So, I could throw a few kunai at you like the genin planned to do, and watched you duck and jump like the monkey you are. Or I could simply throw one of my swords at you arm.

"From there, you would have one of two options. A, allow your arm to be amputated from your body thus releasing Kakashi Hatake from that prism. Or B, remove your arm from the prism, avoiding my sword, but also releasing Kakashi Hatake from his prison. Which one shall it be, Zabuza?" The Demon of the Bloody Mist chuckled sadistically. He had to admit, the boy knew how to play this game rather well, considering how young he was. But Zabuza knew far more than the boy ever would.

"Is that so? You've analyzed me and just like that you have me beaten? Allow me to have a crack at you then, Kumo Shinobi. You have two hook swords. Effective if you're fighting a Shaoling Monk. Sure, it may have worked on my clone, but it was just that... A clone. No where near to the real thing. Those little things wouldn't hold a candle to my Kubikiribocho. And you only have one Dao on your back. Are you really going to chance throwing that at me?

"Let's face it, once you throw that Dao at me, I'm going to be coming straight for you. And those hook swords aren't going to hold me off. There's the off chance you'll throw one of those hook swords at me instead. but that won't do anything. In fact, that won't even break a bone in my arm. I'll simply stay here in the same place. So, did I hit the nail on the head ther, hot shot?" Zabuza questioned with a sadistic smirk placed on his bandaged features. The platinum/blond gave off his own smirk.

"No, Zabuza. You weren't even really that close at all. I think you've let yourself slip, Demon of the Bloody Mist." Without further words, the Kumogakure shinobi reunsheathed his Dao before twirling it expertly. Then it split down the middle before one Dao sword was sailing towards Zabuza's arm, it twin held firmly in the boy's grasp. Zabuza's eyes widened considerably as the sword sailed at him.

He hadn't comtemplated the fact that the Dao sword was actually Dual Dao Swords. Especially considering that the boy had wielded it moments before as if it were a single sword. Lurching to the side, Zabuza's arm delocated from the spherical prism. Kakashi dropped down with a gasp of breath as he stood firmly on the water. The blonde hiared kumogakure girl appeared beside Kakashi, grasping ahold of the airborn Dao sword, before she was back at her partner's side. The platinum/blond reached out, taking the weapon from her grasp.

As Zabuza snarled angrily, the two Kumogakure shinobi rushed forwards to stand on the water beside Kakashi, glaring heatedly towards Zabuza. "You! Konoha Dog!" Naruto called to the silver haired Jonin as Maito Gai finally came around to stumbling to his feet. "I despise your village and hate the very thought of your people. But I freed you so that the odds of incapacitating Zabuza Momochi would be that much better. So do your part and fight!" Kakashi sighed as he lifted his headband, brandishing his implanted sharingan proudly.

"It's nice to meet you too." Kakashi responded as Zabuza began slipping through a multitude of hand seals. Kakashi immediately began copying them as they both unleashed water dragons that clashed together violently. The platinum/blond haired shinobi glared towards the Kirigakure Shinobi menacingly as he flipped through his own series of hand signals. "Discharge: LIghtning Calamity Jutsu!" Black Lightning shot along Kakashi's water Dragon, traveling along the length of Zabuza's own, before slamming into the rogue Kirigakure shinobi.

The man screamed violently as an explosion erupted, sending him flying through the air. As he skidded along the ground, Maito Gai appeared high in the sky. "Dynamic Entry!" His foot slammed into Zabuza's chest, slamming him into the Earth. The man rebounded high into the air before the blonde haired girl appeared over him, bringing her right leg down on the man's chest once again, returning his form to the Earth. He released another scream as he felt for certain that multiple ribs were cracked.

The blonde haired kunoichi bounded away from her target to stand next to her partner, allowing Zabuza to bound to his feet. A smirk stretched out over the platinum/blond haired shinobi's face as he rushed forwards. His right Dao sword was held in a regular grip while his left was held in a reverse grip. Anticipation entered the Kumogakure shinobi's eyes as he prepared to run Zabuza through. The two senbon needles flew from the tree line, impacting into Zabuza's neck.

The Kumogakure shinobi halted in his steps as Zabuza stiffened violently before falling to the ground. The boy that had prepared to run the rogue shinobi through allowed his nostrils to flare as zabuza toppled over to the ground, visually dead. A masked arrival appeared near his body, bowing lowly. "I'm sorry to have stolen your kill, Kumogakure-San, but I've been hunting this man for months. I had to take the opportunity while I still could." The white masked person leaned down and grasped ahold of Zabuza's body, hefting it onto his shoulder while he grasped ahold of Kubikiribocho tightly.

"Did you?" The Kumogakure shinobi questioned angrily as his partner came to stand next to him, the masked appearance looking at him questioningly through their eye slits. "Did you really steal my kill? I'm a sensor shinobi, you know?" The newest arrival's eyes widened in fear as the platinum/blond's nose curled in disgust. "Not only can I still feel his presence, your chakra fluctuated in a rather natural way. The natural way that it does when someone is lying. You didn't kill Zabuza, henceforth, you didn't steal my kill... You're trying to make off with him.

"Which leaves one impression. You're an accomplice. Someone he's invested much time into to get these exact results from. I have to lend it to you, you were almost able to completely wipe his chakra signature out. But as long as he's actually alive, his chakra will remain. And you were almost able to completely stop the fluctuation of your chakra when you lied. Almost. But I've honed my skills continuously. There's no possible way to completely eradicate tell tale's from sensor shinobi. You should've learned that. It cost you your life today!"

The Kumogakure shinobi lurched forwards, but a wall of ice appeared between he and the two enemies. His blue eyes shot to the side as yet another figure launched an ice spear directly at his skull. The boy's eyes narrowed dangerously as he preformed a backbend. as he did so, Zabuza and the accomplice holding him disappeared in a plume of smoke. The third fell away into pieces of ice as the Kumogakure shinobi snarled angrily. "Damn it!"

"It's okay, Naruto. We'll get him next time." The platinum/blond, now identified as 'Naruto' nodded as Kakashi's eyes widened to considerable proportions. It was impossible for his sensei's son to have found his way into Kumo. And Kakashi had passed both the whisker marks, and the tell tale scars of being struck by lightning off as coincidence. But him bieng named Naruto was no coincidence. There was no other possible reason than the one that was currently running through his mind.

Kakashi's Sensei's son, his adoptive brother, was standing in front of him for the first time in fourteen years.

Jiraiya sighed drearily as he downed his beverage in one large gulp. A woman, modest by no mean, sat next to him, clinging from his arm. After his near encounter with his godson, he had departed from Kumogakure and traveled to a nearby civilian village. It had been the best course of action for the time being. A deep grimace set into his features as he thought back to that specific moment in time.

_'I should have called out to him...'_ Jiriya had constantly thought this to himself since the near encounter. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes as he laid his head down on the bar counter in front of him, the woman next to him rubbing his back comfortably as she cooed at him. _'Minato's son, my __**godson**__ was standing right in front of me... and I did nothing. I could have at least called out to him._

_'I mean... Just because he was with a girl doesn't mean that they were close. They could have just been good comrades eating after a mission. But then, someone did call out to him from inside that Dango Shop. I could have interrupted something rather important to him. And then he would have even less reason to listen to me and my plight. Who am I kidding? I'm making up excuses again._

_'Naruto was standing in front of me. The Son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, Jinchuriki to the Kyubi No Kitsune, was standing in front of me. And I did nothing whatsoever to initiate contact with him. All I did was raise my hand and stand there like a stalker. Man... If Kakashi knew, he'd probably kill me. No, scratch that, he would definately kill me. I just know it. All of the repressions that Inoichi has had to do voer the years._

_'All of the therapy that has made him even slightly better, all of the kind words from firends and comrades... All of it would have been for nothing. He'd come unglued. He'd try to go on another war path. I don't think that he can take the knowledge that his little adoptive brother is alive, but loyal to another village. Then again, I may be wrong._

_'Kakashi swore up and down he had a connection with the kid before all the repressions. Nobody wanted to believe him... But what if it had been true? What if all we had to do to stop his rage was reassure him that Naruto was alive? That he would definately meet him again sometime in the future? What if he doesn't give a damn what village Naruto is part of? What if he just wants the kid to be... happy?'_

Jiraiya shook his head wearily as it raised up off of the bar counter. His right hand came up to massage his temple as he finally pushed his newest alcoholic beverage away from his personal being. Then he turned to the scantily clad woman that had been rubbing his back as he thought so heavily. A smile broke out over the white haired Sanin's features as he gave her a once over. _'I think I'm done thinking about all this. All it's doing is making me feel like shit. I had a bad day, may as well have a great night.'_

Jiraiya stood to his feet, smile still in place, offering his left hand to the woman in front of him. She returned the smile as she took it. And then, the two left the bar together, leaving behind the wreaking smell of alcohol, blood and smoke that threatened to suffocate anyone inside of the room.

The Raikage frowned deeply as he stared at the reports in front of him. This wasn't what he had expected. He had held no fear in the results that stood before him. Because those thoughts had never even crossed his mind. Simply because the thoughts were impossible. There should have been no possible way that a mission could have an outcome such as the one that sat in front of him, glaring into his face mockingly.

His desk slammed through his window, shattering both in an instant as he released an enraged scream that echoed out over his village. Shinobi shivered at the malovent chakra that washed over them from their highly respected Kage. "Damn it! Damn it all to hell! How does this happen!? B! B, get your ass to my office _**right now!**_" A few miles away, deep in Kumo's forest, Killer B shivered violently.

He didn't quite know what the Raikage was so pissed about, it wasn't going to be good for either his mental, nor physical, health. His right hand came up to stroke his jaw softly as he thought back to the most recent months of his life. He hadn't quite done anything from off the top of his head that could warrant such anger from A. Nothing except breaking a few doors down here and there. Well, that wasn't entirely true. There had been a little incident around four months ago that B and Naruto had completed in duo.

If he remembered correctly, all payment and paperwork for said mission had to be delayed because there had been a follow up mistake. I. E, some raiders had tried to overtake the village. But B had been pretty sure that those papers had reached A already. He had been pretty pissed off about two months ago for no specific reason. B was quite positive that that reason had been the in depth mission report from the client.

Blue and white lightning crashed down into Kumogakure violently as A released another violent scream which seemed to reach the heavens above. The Lightning surged and expanded before moving forwards, more than likely with every step that the Raikage took. Sweat instantly began to bead down the younger brother's face as he scratched his face tenderly. As he stumbled backwards, the lightning gave another violent surge indicating that A had become far more enraged.

Perhaps the mission report hadn't reached A quite at the time B had suspected it had. Perhaps A had just recieved the report from four months ago. Perhaps he was coming to murder B and completely eradicate his body from the face of the Earth. "Perhaps B needs to get his ass out of here yo, before A rips him in a half like a little piece of flower dough!" B turned around and bolted into the high overhanging tree branches, trying to escape the fury that was the Raikage.

From inside the village, A raged onwards. His features were set in the pure vision of rage as lightning crackled angrily around his body. With each stepp he took, more shinobi and civilians sped to their homes trying to avoid the wrath of A. "B! I said get your ass to my tower! I need to talk to you over this damn report I got! **Killer B!**"

"Fat chance of that, B is making a break for it like a rat!" B called over his shoulders, but quitely enough that he was certain that his brother wouldn't hear him. If he didn't know what direction the Hachibi was going in, then that gave B more time to make his grand escape. As he turned his vision back to the path in front of him, he slammed into something that had no give to it whatsoever. B's form fell to the ground below as that something jumped down to stand next to him.

B's eyes widened with pure fear as A stood over him, lightning lashing out from his body violently. "Now, B, I think it's time you and I talk over this report..."

Kakashi sat and watched Naruto intently as Maito Gai released a carrier Hawk from his hand, requesting even more backup from teh Sandaime Hokage in the highest ranked form that he could possibly send. Naruto paid the silver haired man no mind as he chatted back and forth with his partner over the recent events that had transpired. Then, as if he could feel the gaze, Naruto turned and glared directly at Kakashi's single visible eye. "Is there somethingyou find interesting, Copy Dog?" It was a jab to Kakashi's heart to hear the words come out of the boy's mouth after he had been identified as Kakashi's long lost adoptive brother.

"I... thought you were dead." Kakashi responded, drawing the attention of all of those gathered around them. Was it possible that Kakashi actually knew the person who had saved them from Zabuza and labeled the Konoha Dogs? Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion as his heated gaze stayed focused on Kakashi.

"Then you thought wrong, Konoha Dog. I don't remember meeting you, but if you've tried to kill me in the past, you'll have to try a lot harder than that. Because it apparently didn't take. I'll warn you though, if you step to me, I plan to leave you lying where you stand." He had grown up to become a true shinobi, that much was certain to the silver haired Jonin. He wasn't afraid of death, nor was he hard pressed to deliver it.

"You were a baby when I last saw you. A few hours old at most. You'd just lost your parents and everything was just so chaotic... And then you were gone." The platinum/blond's brow furrowed even deeper as Kakashi spoke. Naruto was no fool. He had known long before the Raikage had revealed to him that he hadn't been born in Kumogakure. As a matter of fact, all things considered, it pointed to the fact that he had been birthed in Konohagakure, the village he hated most of all. Though the Raikage could neither confirm, nor deny, this due to classified information.

Naruto himself had even narrowed down the known people in the village that could have been his parents. Had chosen the most likely scenario that he was the son of the Yondaime Hokage and his wife, whoever that was, and thus was the reason that the Kyubi had been sealed inside of him. It didn't change his views on either village. He belonged in Kumo. He had been raised and nurtured there. Taken care of and was a highly respected member of their community. He didn't belong in Konoha. They were ignorant biggots. And Naruto wanted nothing to do with them.

"Then I assume you know everything about my origins. My parents, my birth village, everything. It doesn't change a thing. I am Kumogakure's Shinobi. I am Naruto Hakkinkaku of Kumogakure. Nothing you say changes that. You could change my entire outlook on life. Yoou could alter my hate from Konoha to Kumo and my love from Kumo to Konoha and nothing would change. I would still be their loyal shinobi. That village contains all of my friends, my comrades, all of my living relatives." Kakashi took a step towards Naruto. Pain pulsed through his chest as he grunted.

"I didn't say that I wanted to change your views on Konoha. That's the farthest thing from my mind. I just want to change your views on me. I don't want you to know me as 'Konoha's Copy Dog'. I want to be on your favorable side, not the side that you plan to slaughter on the battlefield." The genin around Kakashi stared at the scene in shock, more specifically his own squadron. They had never quite seen this side of Kakashi. Had never anticipated that he would try to forego a mission to form a bond with an enemy shinobi.

"Yosh! Look at my youthful rival create bridges between Kumo and Konoha!" Gai released a violent shriek that seemed to pierce the heavens. "So hip! Lee, we must now do four hundred upside down pushups! If we fail to-" The blonde Kumogakure girl and Tenten appeared behind the two, knocking Gai and Lee to the ground respectively.

"I swear, these people are more annoying than B!" The girl spoke to Naruto whom continued to glare at Kakashi. Their conversation had halted at Gai's interruption, but it appeared that it was going to heat back up just as quickly.

"Who says that I want to change my views of you? You're a Konoha Dog, that's all I need to know to form my opinion. You want to change it? Go jump off a bridge. I have no desire to get to know you, your team or anyone in your village for that matter. In fact, I'd think it be a nice sentiment if Konoha was wiped completely off of the map. If you can complete such a task, then we'll talk." Naruto turned away from the silver haired Jonin, who moved forwards to grab his shoulder.

"Naruto-" Pain exploded throughout Kakashi's body before it collapsed to the ground. His genin team rushed forwards as Gai was immediately on his feet, protecting his comrades unconscious form.

"Don't take things so seriously Green Dog of Konoha." Naruto spoke to Gai as he kicked Kakashi's form from his position on his stomach, to his back. "He's having chakra failure. Used too much of it up from the looks of it. Probably that Sharingan eye he has implanted. Typical of Konoha shinobi. You don't even know your own limits." The platinum/blond sighed as he cracked his back explosively. "Yugito, let's go. We have priorities to take care of." The blond, Yugito, nodded in response as they began to leave the small battlefield.

"Wait!" Tazuna cried out as he staggered on his feet. "I can... Um... I mean... Yeah, you should stay at my house! I'd be more than... more than happy to accom... accomaaa... coma... let you stay there." Naruto frowned as Yugito glanced meaningfully to him.

"No, I simply refuse to share a house with Konoha Dogs. You send them away like the strays that they are and maybe, just maybe. Until then, I'll be finding an Inn for me and my partner to stay in." As they continued their pace, Tazuna shook his head as he staggered after them.

"Ain't no... Inns left! Gato closed them all... down." Tazuna stopped to burp before continuing. "Best you're gonna... Do around here is paying for a... um... A futon! Yeah, A futon on the ground!" Naruto halted in his tracks and snarled viciously over his shoulder.

"I'd rather take my chances with the futon!" Yugito brought her right hand up to rest on his left shoulder, shaking her head.

"We can't take that chance, Naruto. It's simply too dangerous. Even if we were sleeping in shifts. We should at least give his housing a try. Who knows? Maybe this specific bunch of Konoha Shinobi aren't as bad as you seem to think that they are." Naruto's nostrils flared at Yugito's words. She always seemed to have to be the voice of reason in situations such as the one they were in.

"No bunch of Konoha Shinobi is good. Out of their gigantic village, there may be one, _one_, man or woman that is tolerable. But I don't see that at all. Fine, Tazuna!" The drunken man straightened up at the sound of his own name. "We'll accept your offer to stay at your house. But make no mistake. I'm in no way on friendly terms with Konoha shinobi. One wrong move, and I'll put them through your wall."

"I'm not sure my... my dau... My daught... Tsuna- You know what? I"m okay with that..." Naruto nodded as he moved past Kakashi fallen form, follwed quickly by Yugito. Both Kumogakure shinobi ignored the group of Konoha shinobi as they lifted his up to carry him. Tazuna came to stand beside Naruto where he, admittedly, felt more secure and safe. "You know... The guy that wants to get to... to know you? You should... um... give him a chance. He s-saved... saved the world from ext.. exa... extra... Alines, ya know?" Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion as his gaze met Yugito's own.

"Excuse me?"

Naruto's eyes surveyed the damage around himself as blood trickled from his skull. The crimson red liquid leaked into his eyes, blurring his vision considerably. Yugtio screamed out in pain next to him as she skidded along the ground. A fist slammed into his jaw, shattering it as he staggered to the side. He wasn't quite sure how this had happened. He had only been following orders. He had only been completing his mission. He didn't understand why all of this was happening. A giant man with his face wrapped came to stand in front of Naruto's blurred vision. A monstrous sword sat, resting on his shoulder.

Naruto's own swords were scattered over the battlefield. There had simply been too many swordsmen that had outclassed him. The man above him chuckled sadistically as his shoulders shook. "You know kid, you've caused me a lot of trouble these last couple of days. You almost cost me everything.

"Everything that I've been planning so carefully to my benefit. And you, some wackjob Kumo genin almost ruined it all for me. But, I guess that's just how life proceeds, doesn't it? A wonder you even survived this long in the shinobi world." The man's foot crached into Naruto's gut, sending him to his knees as Yugito was again thrown across their small battlefield. "But I guess it's time for me to rectify that, huh? I'll see you in hell kid." The man's arm pulled back and prepared to ram his sword through Naruto's skull.

Before it ever could, a new figure, drenched in his own blood, jumped in the way. This action caused the sword to slam through their abdomen, stopping it inches away from its intended target. The man holstering the sword released a surprised grunt as he wrenched the sword out of the figure's gut. Immediately they fell to the ground. As they did so, time seemed to slow for Naruto. As the figure, a male's, silver hair floated through the air, his redish eyes staring into Naruto's blue as he slammed into the ground.

Naruto bolted awake in his futon. "Kagari!" Sweat dribbled all over his body as he panted heavily, looking to and fro in the dark room that he lay in. It wasn't actually a room, but a small storage closet that he and his futon barely fit inside of. Upon his arrival to Tazuna's house, his guardians had met his daughter, Tsunami, who had stated that the men would have to share one room while the women another.

This had instantly started an argument as Naruto fought for his right to be seperated from the Konoha Dogs. She had smiled sweetly and said that the only other available room was a closet that would undoubtedly leave his joint stiff and his body possible sick. He had, of course, chosen the closet. Yugito had just opted to share the room with the two Konohagakure Kunoichi. It didn't exactly surprise Naruto. Yugito didn't hold Konoha in as much disdain as the majority of Kumo did. Naruto stood to his feet, rubbing his head tenderly as it slammed against the ceiling of the closet.

Quickly, Naruto opened the door and stepped out of the room, covering his eyes as the sunlight bathed his figure in light, blinding him. He stumbled slightly, releasing a low growling noise from deep in his chest as he tried to regain his bearing. The stoarge closet had no windows whatsoever inside, and the sudden change from dark to light irritated Naruto's eyes greatly in the morning. With a dreary sigh, Naruto removed his hand from his eyes and stalked forwards, down the flight of stairs that lead to the kitchen below.

Eyes immediately fell on his sudden appearance as the Konoha squadrons, and Yugito, ate breakfast peacefully in the kitchen. Naruto's nose crinckled slightly as he noticed that Kakashi had awoken from his comatose like state. Upon meeting the platinum/blond's gaze, Kakashi's visible eye crinckled into a u, indicating that he was smiling. The kumogakure shinobi grimaced deeply in response. "Good morning, Naruto." The silver haired man spoke.

"Don't speak like you presume to know me, dog." Naruto returned spitefully as he marched past the kitchen table full of shinobi.

"Ano, Kumo-San?" Tsunami called from her place by the stove in her kitchen. "Don't you want any breakfast?" Naruto never stopped in his pace as he replied over her shoulder.

"I'll find breakfast for myself in your village. I refuse to share the same table as that scum. I'm not as open minded as my partner there. If worst case scenario rears its ugly little head, I'll go hunting for my own food. I am not as helpless as those genin you're feeding." The screen front door of the birdge builder's house slammed shut behind the platinum/blond haired boy. Kakashi winced harshly at the loud noise.

A opened the drawer to his desk slowly with a long drawn out breath. Now, this desk wasn't his Raikage's desk. No, far from it. It was the desk he kept in the study of his home's library. Inside the drawer, it seemed just about completely bare. Except for one tiny detail. The mask that shone brightly under the rooms bright lights. The dark hollowed eyeholes glared menacingly at the Raikage, drawing a shiver down his spine without any eyes even being behind it.

The white porcelain mask seemed to bear a strong resemblance to that of an Anbu members mask. But it wasn't. It was the mask of a far more elite group of shinobi that had operated as the Raikage's personal unit. Contractor Anbu. They were a secret organization of Anbu, much like Konoha's Root Anbu were supposed to be. But they operated in a different way. First, a shinobi or kunoichi had to qualify to become a Contractor Anbu. Second, they had to be affiliated with a specific clan inside of Kumogakure.

The Hei clan's origins were rather mysterious. no one quite knew where they came from or how they aquired their abilities. Some rumored that they had 'contracted' themselves to demons and gods, or even the stars, to gain the hereditary powers that they passed down. And there was a specific reason that the rumor had been started. When their powers were used, a member of the Hei clan had to pay a price, so to speak.

The price differed from clan member to clan member and power to power. No two people were exactly the same inside of the clan. Some members had even paid their price and could use their powers freely. Yes, they were a highly sought out clan that had stationed themselves in Kumo many years ago. They were the single clan that the Sandaime Hokage had founded the Contractor Anbu around.

So there were never that many of them to begin with. As a matter of fact, it was a rather small group of shinobi that knew of the existence of the Contractor Anbu. And they had slowly dwindled down. The powers of the Hei clan had slowly driven them crazy it seemed as they began to turn on each other. They imploded from the inside with their own Civil Clan War that the Raikage had been helpless to stop. They had murdered each other. The Contractor Anbu had even turned on each other.

Some of the Hei shinobi went rogue to save their own lives. There were very few of them left in the world of shinobi, and no one knew their exact whereabouts. If they were still alive, they didn't want to be found. The number of Contractor Anbu dropped lower still. To one. There was one member of the Hei clan that remained in Kumogakure, alive. He too had been a member of the Contractor Anbu division, albeit short as a time as it was. A had retired the Contractor Anbu division.

The last member of the Hei clan had been reluctant to allow such to happen. He had demanded that the Contractor Division be allowed to carry on. He had promised that he would retrieve the members of the Hei clan that had become rogue and turn them back to a better cause. But it had been a risk the A just couldn't accept at that specific time. He had retired the Contractor Anbu back to regular shinobi work and taken his mask. The same mask that stared up at him from his desk's drawer.

The mask was white, as previously stated. Porcelain as it were. A purple lightning bolt speared through the right eye hole. Lower on the mask, a thin red smile had been painted over the area where the Contractor Anbu's mouth would have been. The Raikage knew from experience that if you tilted the mask just right, it would seem like the mouth was changing form. Almost as if it were changing emotion. The Raikage's hand entered his drawer and removed the mask, holding it gently.

"Perhaps..." A spoke with a dreary sigh. "Perhaps... It's time to bring back one, just _one_ Contractor Anbu... Just for the time being." The drawer to the desk slammed shut, empty. The mask was still held, now firmly, in A's hand. His mind had been set. He was ready to reinstate Kumogakure's final Hei clan member as a Contractor Anbu. Marching forwards, the Yondaime Raikage made his way towards his office.

Naruto marched through the trees in the Land of Waves, his eyes blaring hatefully. It was late afternoon now. He had been unable to secure breakfast due to the poor state that the village was in. The perfect picture of poverty. So he hadhad to hunt his own breakfast, like h said he would. Now he was searching for the two squadrons of Konoha shinobi, angrily. He found them, one set of Genin running up trees while the other sat using a chakra leaf exercise. Naruto snorted spitefully as Gai and Kakashi's attention came to him.

"Yosh! Kumo-San! Have you finally decided to accept the youthfullness that flows to and fro inside you and train with us!? Your teammates did so before she requested to train on her own!" Naruto's nose crinckled in disgust as he felt rage boil in him.

"Hell no I'm not here to train with you, you biggot!" That was the Raikage's rage being channeled through Naruto it seemed. The platinum/blond haired boy wouldn't have been surprised if the man was on a rampage at that very moment. "I've come to relay a message to you bunch. Another group of Konoha dogs arrived a few minutes ago. your backup. They were lead by a dark headed woman with red eyes and claimed to be Team Eight of Konoha." Kakashi's eye crinckled into his usual smile.

"Yes, that'd be Kurenai Yuhi and her team. Thank you for relaying that to us, Naruto." The platinum/blond snorted in disdain as he turned away.

"You realize that it is required for Kumogakure shinobi to be able to do both the exercises that your genin are preforming right now before the graduate the academy, yes?" Kakashi simply nodded in response. Kumogakure was a much harsher military village. They still vlaued their shinobi just as much as Konoha, but where Konoha seemed to produce numbers, Kumo seemed to produce quality.

With a sigh, Kakashi's eyes fell on Gai's estatic form as Naruto began to depart from their rather small group. "Gai, I'm feeling a little weary. Can you watch over both groups of genin for a little while?" Gai nodded happily as he began to exclaim to the heavens his approval of being left alone with the genin, who paled at the implications. Kakashi's eye crinckled as he walked away with the smallest of limps, following after the platinum/blond Kumogakure shinobi.

Once they were a rather decent distance away from the group, kakashi called out to him. "Naruto!" The Kumo SHinobi didn't halt in his pace as Kakashi trailed him. "Naruto!"

"What!? You've been following me ever since I tried to get away from your little group of dogs! What the hell do you want!?" Naruto exclaimed in exasperation as he finally came to a halt.

"I just want to talk to you."

"Well I don't want to talk to you. Understand this, it doesn't matter if I was born in Kumo or fell from the stars, Kumo is my home and I hate yours."

"I'm not trying to change your home." Kakashi spoke earnestly. Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion. There was no fluctuation of chakra that identified that he was lying. "I don't want to change our views on Konoha. Or Kumo. Like I said the other day: I only want to change your views on _me_. Please, just... Just _at least _twenty minutes. Allow me twenty mintues to at least talk to you and get to know you?" Naruto glared harshly at Kakashi.

As every mini second passed, the tension between the two seemed to grow thicker. Kakashi's visible eye pleaded as he stared into Naruto's steely electric blue eyes. Then Naruto finally spoke. "Okay. You have my attention. You're not lying to me, and you're obviously not going to quit pissing me off until I've allowed you at least that. But make no mistake... If you can't change my opinion of you in twenty minutes, not twenty minutes and one second, twenty minutes on the dot, I'll have nothing to do with you whtsoever. Do you understand me?"

Kakashi's eye crinckled. "Absolutely. Follow me, I passed a spot this morning that I'm sure nobody will find us at. I'd rather not have my twenty minutes interrupted."

Yugito's eyes narrowed as she found herself surrounded by a new group of Konoha genin. "Halt! State your name and purpose!" One of her rather perfect eyebrow's raised as she looked at the boy who had spoke. He wore black glasses that for very specific reasons reminded her of Killer B. That in of itself was enough to piss her off. The boy himself was no doubt an Aburame from Konoha. His teammates consisted of an Inuzuka and another Hyuga, who stood much farther away from Yugito.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll back off." Yugito responded as she dropped down into a rather low crouch, her nose crinckling in disgust as she stared at the Inuzuka. She had a rather bad dislike of mutts. Their sensei stood in front of the Hyuga, glaring at her with her eyes burning full of rage.

"That's enough!" A new voice spoke as Tsunami poked her head from the doorway of the front door. "You must be the newest arrivals from Konoha. Well, welcome, but please do not assault Yugito. She is a friendly Kumo shinobi who's also protecting my father and my family. I would be ever so grateful at the two group of shinobi guarding my father refraining from killing each other." She smiled brightly and then disappeared back into the house.

Yugito released her crouch as Kiba smiled. "So... we're on the same team?" Kiba questioned his sensei who nodded slowly. The Hokage hadn't mentioned any Kumogakure shinobi being on their job sight. Kiba took a long stride forwards, placing his arm around Yugito's shoulders. "So... You come here often?"

Yugito's elbow planted firmly in Kiba's gut causing him to double over in pain. This, Kurenai allowed. She didn't allow her students to act like perverts, and Kiba was no exception. "Keep your hands off me mutt. I've already got my eyes on someone, so I'm as good as taken." The Kumo kunoichi released a huff of breath as she raised her nose at Kiba before stomping away. Kurenai walked forwards.

"You don't learn... Do you?"

"Alright, here we are." Kakashi spoke as he gestured to the scenery surounding them. Naruto had to admit, it was rather to his liking. It was a clearing, surrounded by a plethora of trees. A giant pond sat in the middle where a watefall continously poured water into it. Naruto held his hand out, allowing the water to run over it. It was cool, refreshing for the Kumogakure shinobi.

"Then your twenty minutes begins... Now." Kakashi nodded thoughtfully as he raised his right hand to his chin.

"Right... Where do I begin? I guess with myself. I know that sounds conceited, but bear with me. I'm the legitimate son of Konoha's deceased White Fang. He committed suicide as I'm sure you well know. I was devasted. And then I met Minato Namikaze. He was my sensei, along with my two teammates, Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha. He became my father in every sense of the word. I loved him. But it wasn't until much later that I showed it.

"I was cold. I didn't want to end up like my real father. So during the Third Great Shinobi War, when Rin was kidnapped, I was going to leave her. I know, I can tell from your look you don't approve. I don't either... Not anymore. Obito scolded me and left me to find her. I followed and kept him from being murdered. It cost me my left eye. We rescued Rin, but the cave that we were in collapsed. Obito saved me, but was crushed under a boulder. He gave me his left eye. That's where I got my sharingan.

"Later, Rin was kidnapped and made a Jinchuriki like you. They were going to let us take her back to the village and then unleash the Biju on us. But she died. By my hand. She interrupted one of my jutsu and I killed her. I've never forgotten, nor will I ever forget. If I had been a better shinobi then, maybe she'd be here talking with me to you now. It was after all of this that I began to show my emotions to Minato.

"And the woman he came to love, Kushina, she became like my mother. She was beautiful, but she was frightful when you made her angry. They treated me like their son and I loved them like they were my birth parents. And then Kushina got pregnant. I was estatic. I spent nine months helping them get everything ready for you. And then when the day came, something terrible happened.

"I still don't quite know what it was, but something cause Kushina-Sama's seal to break. She was the Nidaime Kyubi Jinchuriki. It unleashed the Kyubi and he devastated our village, as you know. Minato-Sensei fought back with his forces and he and Kushina-Sama died sealing the Kyubi into their newborn son. Then he was struck by lightning. The alter had been left behind so I presume that it was attracted to the metallic surface.

"I got into an argument with the Sandaime over the child. Proclaimed him my little brother. Said that I should be the one to raise him. Hiruzen wouldn't allow it and sent him away. Later that night, he was kidnapped, my little brother, gone. That infant was you, Naruto." Naruto sat cross legged by the pond, his left hand running through the water gently, just enough to actually disturb the liquid substance.

"And did you not look for me then, _brother_?" Kakashi's eye showed sorrow as he came to sit next to Naruto.

"Look for you? I went on a war path! The Sandaime had Inoichi Yamanaka repress my emotions for the longest time and gave me a multitude of mental and physical treatments. And even though I eventually stopped my war path, I never forgot you. I've always remembered you, always looked for you." Naruto gave a noise from his throat as he lifted his hand from the water, shaking the liquid from it.

"I suppose it's my turn to spill my guts to you then?"

"That depends. Have I changed your opinion of me yet?"

"You've bought yourself more time to do so." Kakashi's eye showed a smile at the response as he stood back to his feet, offering his hand to Naruto.

"In that case, your turn can wait. I have the chance to be your brother for however long you're giving me and I'm not going to waste it. Get up, I want to teach you something."

Hiruzen chuckled to himself as he placed the papers in his hands down onto his desk. He should've given Tazuna follow up questions. Should have went more in depth with his interview. But he didn't, and now he was paying for that. He had sent team eight out as backup for Kakashi and Gai's units. Another genin squad. And then he had recieved the backup request from Maito Gai.

Not only had the two units run into Zabuza Momochi, an S-Ranked Rogue Shinobi from Kirigakure No Sato, but also two Kumogakure shinobi. Two Kumogakure shinobi who had easily been able to do what Kakashi and Gai hadn't been able to with the weight of their Genin bearing down on them. He couldn't send anymore backup out. It was just out of his hands at this point. He couldn't allow clients to believe that Konoha was weaker than it actually was.

And he couldn't recall the group. That would have the same effect as sending another unit, or more Jonin. Konoha would be viewed as weak and one of the other villages would surge forwards and sieze power from that. No, neither were possible. It left the old man in an impossible decision. Withdraw his troops and appear weak, or allow them to continue and hope that they were strong enough to fight back against one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

The papers found themselves in the trashcan. His genin would have to grit their teeth and bear through it. Hopefully the arrival of the Kumogakure shinobi, no matter how bad of terms that they were on, would help greatly. Besides, back in the Warring States Era, things such as the situation unfolding now was an every day occurence. Hiruzen had lived through many similar scenarios. This one was no different. His military would pull through. Just like it had since day one.

So that's that chapter. I'm pretty sure that I still like the way that this story is going. So here's the deal, and this is _**VERY IMPORTANT **_if you're wanting to read this story. I'm not going to be sending Naruto on every mission that Konoha sends Genin on. Instead, I'm gonna borrow some plots from other Animes. Such as Darker Than Black, as I inserted into this chapter. I'm also contemplating on thinking of putting Sekirei into this.

Now, I'm not sure, but if I do this is the premise it'll be on. Instead of being 'aliens' like they are in the show, they'll simply be a clan that isn't really a clan but descendants of one spread throughout the world. They're still 'Wingable' and Sekirei and Ashikabi, but there's no game like in the show. ya know... Cause Minaka doesn't exist in this universe. But they still fight each other because Sekirei have the urge to strike down Ashikabi to eleminate other Sekirei.

I don't know if it'll work out, but it'll make the story interesting... For me... Anyways, adding Darker Than Black in, where Naruto _is_ going to be BK-201, it got me thinking about Darker Than The Void. That story's not gone. Don't get that idea. That's the reason I made this account, to write that story.

But I lost a little interest in it. I'm not entirely sure where I want it to go. SO, if you want to see Dark Than The Void continued, send me some ideas. If I like 'em enough, I may be typing the next chapter of it sooner rather than later. Oh, and don't expect Naruto to accept Konoha. He is strictly accepting only Kakashi as it is right now, that much is for certain. He'll be his brother from another village so to speak. Anyways, that's it for this chapter. I don't know if there will be anymore when I post this, so we'll see when it's posted, won't we?


	4. Chapter 4

Yugito sat across from the large group of Konoha shinobi in a chair leaned back against one of Tazuna's wall. Her catlike eyes passed over them all distatefully as she crossed her arms across her chest. _'Cheeky bastards...' _The blonde haired woman thought angrily to herself. _'Looks like Naruto was right. Konoha isn't anything but a village full of dirty stray mutts!'_ The dog that had been brought along with the Inuzuaki grolwed menacingly with her. But, considering it was nothing but a puppy, _'I'm going to kick that mutt across this room like a ball...'_

The screen door of Tazuna's house swung open as Naruto and Kakashi entered. Naruto chuckled in apparent good spirits as Kakashi's eye took on that all too familiar u shape. "... So Gai's running around with his jumpsuit on fire screaming how he's achieved the ultimate flames of youth and-" The two shinobi halted in their tracks as they felt every watching their sudden presence. Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Is there something you find interesting, Konoha Dogs?" He snarled angrily as he took an intimidating step forwards. The newest Hyuga arrival shrieked in fear before she fell to the ground, unconscious. Naruto's blue eyes glared at her downed form for a moment before he turned his eyes to her sensei. "Well? One of your pups just got sick. Shouldn't you be nursing it back to health?" Kurenai glared angrily as she stomped forwards to the Kumo shinobi.

The red eyed kunoichi was intercepted by his blonde haired partner before she could come within a few feet of him. "I'd think twice before you came within spitting distance of Naruto. He want have to waste his time killing you, because I'll do it for him!" Kurenai's red eyes glared heatedly into Yugito's cat like ones before she slowly backed away. Kurenai was a Genjutsu type, and the girl before her obviously wasn't. So if she could escape any genjutsu cast by Kurenai, the black haired woman would be severely outclassed.

"Naruto, couldn't you try to be a little more tolerable to my comrades?" Kakashi questioned as he came to stand next to the blonde haired girl, followed closely by Naruto. Kurenai's eyes narrowed dangerously. It was rather strange that Kakashi chose to stand beside Kumo shinobi in a situation where battle was threatening to break out amongst them. Naruto glared at the tensed Konoha ninja with a dark smirk on his face.

"You're in my favor Kakashi. Your comrades are not. They're dogs. You grew up with them and can't see it, but they all are. Mutts that really need to be put down. You don't understand how much I hate Konoha and all those who reside inside of it." Kakashi glanced at him from the side. That wasn't a surprise. He and Naruto had spent the majority of the day talking with each other, learning more about the other. Naruto had a very legitimate reason for hating Konoha shinobi. And Kakashi could not, and would not, fault him for that.

"Kakashi, you seem awfuly chummy with a shinobi who may as well be our enemy." Kurenai spoke as the surrounding genin glanced between the two Jonin, frightened. There was descent happening right in front of them, and they had no true idea how to cope with it. They hadn't been trained to handle those specific types of situations. Kakashi smiled towards Kurenai underneath his mask, but it never reached his visible eye.

"Maybe so. But right now, with how your all acting, I think I'd much rather be associated with him than any of you. Sakura, Sai, Sasuke, stand down, right now. If you continue to harass these two Kumogakure shinobi, I will write you up for insubordination and have you stripped of your shinobi license. **Now**." The three genin looked at each other as their peers watched them intently. Then they dropped their stances and backed away from the scenario, exiting the room into the upstair rooms.

Kakashi's intent gaze remained on his comrades as Naruto crossed his arms across his chest. "I would suggest that you all take Kakashi's example and have your genin squadrons back down. I'd absolutely _hate _to start a war with Konoha over a few genin bodies." Gai's brow furrowed angrily. The teen before him had fought toe to toe with Zabuza's clone when it had bested him. There was no doubt about his power. He could slaughter Knoha's genin graduates without a second thought.

There was the off chance that they could defeat him and his partner. But if they continued to pursue a confrontation with the platinum/blond in front of him they also ran the risk of causing an international crisis with Kumogakure. That was something that the Sandaime Hokage would simply not tolerate. On top of that, Kakashi was apparently taking Kumo's side in the whole situation. Kakashi was every bit Gai's equal and could definately best the Green Beast of Konoha alone. The odds were definately not in their favor.

"Neji, Tenten, Lee... Stand down." The three genin looked at their sensei in shock as he dropped his stance, head hung low. "This isn't a scenario we can win. Kakashi's obviously on their side in this, and there's no doubt of his power. The boy fought one on one with two of Zabuza's clones. The girl is definately his partner for a reason. We're outclassed here. I'm not going to have one of my students killed because I was stupid enough to follow through with something like this. Stand down."

The three shinobi nodded their heads as they fell in place behind their sensei. Kurenai's eyes narrowed dangerously as Tsunami finally descended the stairs at the commotion. Her eyes watered heavily as she fought the urge to hyperventilate. The scenario that had unfolded was far out of her control. There was no way she could stop any brawl that was to break out now. "So what do you plan to do now, Konoha dog?" Naruto questioned the woman as she grit her teeth in fury.

"Look at the scenario you've placed yourself in. You are standing there with only two of your genin active. The other two squadrons that are here have stood down. And you're facing off against two shinobi who you know nothing about, and The Copy Ninja of Konoha Kakashi Hatake. Are you positive that you really want to follow through with this?" Kurenai released a growling noise as she dropped her stance.

"Stand down." The command was almost unvoiced, barely heard by either genin that stood next to her. Naruto's eyes fell away from the red eyed woman and finally took in Tsunami's form. A grimace set in tightly on his features as he uncrossed his arms.

"I believe that I've out stayed my welcome." Naruto spoke as he brushed past the dark haired woman, heading towards the storage closet. "I'll retrieve my things and be gone." Kakashi sighed angrily as he massaged the bridge of his nose. Of course, as soon as he got Naruto to acknowledge him as something much more than a dog, Konoha would come along and try to interfere with his life once again.

Naruto reappeared down the stairs, a black duffel bag no strung around his body. A senbon needle was being chewed gently between his lips as he came to stand beside Kakashi and Yugito once again. "Kakashi, look after Yugito for me. I'm not going to force her to sleep out in the cold with me just because I have a hot head. Make sure she stays too." Yugito opened her mouth to protest, though Naruto shook his head.

"No, Yugito, you stay tonight. I'm fully capable of taking care of myself as you well know. I know you are as well, but at least one of us should remain here with the person who we're to protect. Considering that you've been the one most comfortable here until right now, that should be you." The blonde haired kunoichi nodded dutifully. Naruto would keep a close eye on the house and those in it. But she understood that he couldn't bear the thought of living with them under the same roof anymore.

She walked forwards and hugged him tightly, a gesture which he returned. "If a tiny piece of her hair is out of place, I'll come back and slaughter all of you dogs like the mutts that you are! Do you understand me!?" The genin that remained in the room backed away from the scene, frightened, as Kakashi clasped a hand on the platinum/blond's shoulder.

"She's safe with me, Naruto." The whisker marked Kumo genin nodded in assurance before Kakashi removed his hand.

"I know."

"Ano, Kumo-san? You don't have to leave. Just... refrain from harming the other residents." Naruto's eyes met Tsunami's. Tears still threatened to spill over like water with a broken dam. Naruto shook his head grimly.

"No, it's better if I leave now. I'm only causing trouble for you and your home life at this point. Thank you for the sentiment though, Tsunami-San. Keep a watchful eye on Yugito for me." With that, the screen door slammed behind Naruto harshly as he walked away from Tazuna's house.

Zabuza's apprentice, Haku, picked herbs delicately as he thought of his master. The man had been rather injured from that mysterious boy's lightning jutsu. To the point that he had been incapacitated for a week. That week was fast approaching an end, but it didn't change the fact itself. It had infuriated him that the platinum/blond haired boy had arrived and cost him his battle. He had awoken, enraged. It had been evident in his eyes. He had immediately tried to fight to his feet to claim his sword.

He had been intent on hunting down the boy. But he had been too injured, and had simply exhausted himself farther. And then Gato had arrived, threatening both of their lives as well as informing that he had hired yet another mercenary. A rather dangerous one at that. It had been the reason that the second Ice User had appeared in time to save Haku from having to engage battle with the boy.

The ice user had shocked Haku. After all, he had been certain that he was the only one with the Kekkei Genkai of ice left. But he guessed that he wasn't. He hadn't exactly had the chance to talk to the second user as they had disappeared off of the radar. That wasn't to say that he hadn't tried to find them, but still. Haku's brown eyes widened as a platinum/blond haired teen walked past him.

His heart rate quickened quickly to exponential levels as the boy halted in his tracks, his back to Haku. It was the same boy that had attacked Zabuza. The same boy that had bested his clones. The same who had said that he- "Hello again. How is Zabuza doing?" -was a sensor. Which meant that no matter how great your disguise was, if he had met you once before he would know your chakra signature anywhere.

"He's fine." Haku returned as he continued to as he picked herbs. There was no point in trying to ignore him. It wouldn't do good if the ice user angered him. If he had beaten Zabuza's clones he was on a whole different level than Haku. That much was for certain to the Kekkei Genkai wielder. The whisker marked boy glanced over his shoulder and glared menacingly at Haku.

"That's _great_. Make no mistake about this, there's only one reason that you get to live today. You're going to send a message to Zabuza for me. And that message is simply this: I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill you, Gato and him. There's no way to escape. I will hunt you down to the end of time and I will kill you both." Haku said nothing as Naruto's eyes narrowed. Then the brown eyed boy found both of Naruto's Dao swords at his throat, formed together as one sword. Haku's eyes widened in fear as the whisker marked boy grinned ferally.

"Watch your neck out there, scum." Naruto's Dao found home in its sheath as he marched away from the Kekkei Genkai user whom rubbed his throat tenderly, his heart beating wildly.

_'He could've killed me... And I couldn't do anything about it.'_ Haku gasped harshly as another sword made itself known. Strands of long light grey hair fell into his eyes as a woman's voice penetrated his ears.

"That person you were speaking with just now... Who is he?" Haku shivered violently at the tone that suggested pure torturous pain if he didn't comply to answer.

Naruto strolled aimlessly through the Land of Waves. Pathetic, desperate eyes pleaded with him every corner he turned. His heart went out to the small village. Children fought each other for scraps out of a dumpster. Women mourned at their husband's early graves. Husband's grieved their wife and children's recent disappearances. And everywhere he went, the pleaded with him. To save them or kill them. They didn't truly care. He of course wouldn't simply kill them. No matter how bad their poverty was, it didn't warrant death.

So he had been gathering intel on Gato. Secret whispers between he and merchants who were preparing to close the doors to their shops forever. Children telling of the Bogeyman that threatened their very livelihoods. And it was all consistent. That was the greatest part. All of it matched what the previous had already stated. It was rather satisfying to the Kumogakure shinobi. He knew that the more intel he held, the quicker he was completing his mission. If he knew where Gato kept himself holed up, he knew where to strike the monster at its heart.

The problem was, he hadn't quite learned Gato's whereabouts. That was the one thing that the businees tyrant had been able to keep secret from all of the peoples of wave. Of course, that was no problem. Naruto had been trailing members of Gato's mercenary squad, picking up information from them as well. As much intel as he had gathered, he would be able to piece together Gato's location. And then it would only be the task of assassinated the little tyrant that stood in the way of his mission's completion.

A sigh escaped his lips as his blue eyes rose to stare at the sky overhead. A gentle smile overtook his features as he gazed at the clouds. They reminded him of home, and at the moment, that was one of the best things that he truly had going. "I need to figure out where I'm staying tonight..." His voice was barely audible as he breathed this sentence out with a small burst of oxygen.

"Do you need a place to stay?" The voice caught Naruto completely by surprise. He hadn't been checking for chakra signatures, and hadn't been expecting anyone to truly be listening to his plight. The Kumogakure shinobi swirled on his heels, his hand descending to his right hook sword as he glared at the person standing behind him. The glare immediately dropped. Standing behind him was a slender yet shapely woman whom wielded fair skin and brown eyes. Her purple hair reached down to her waist with her bangs in a Hime-style. She wore a purple hakama, a white haori with a sash like belt, wooden sandals and a white ribbon to partially hold her hair in place.

She was easily one of the most beautiful people that Naruto had laid eyes on. That didn't warrant him to drop his hand from his sword, but it was something that he noted on instinct. "What business is that of yours?" Naruto questioned. He normally didn't have this bad an attitude towards so many people, but he didn't like the idea that he had slipped enough to have allowed someone to get so close to him so quickly. The woman simply smiled at him.

"I heard you say you needed a place to stay. I, or rather my clan, own an Inn just a few blocks over. The Izumo Inn. You're more than welcome to stay there." Naruto's eyes narrowed suspiciously, though he did drop his hand away from his sword. Her chakra signature didn't fluctuate, so she wasn't lying to him. And she didn't give off any malcontent. Oxygen escaped through his nostrils as he released a long breath.

"The man that I'm in this village to protect, Tazuna, said that there were no Inns left available due to Gato's tyrany." The woman's smile dropped instantly as her eyes gained a steely look. Though she tried to cover up the sudden change in demeanor, Naruto caught it.

"Yes, I'm aquainted with Tazuna. He's a drunken man with rather perverted tendencies. He doesn't acknowledge our inn as an inn, but it's there. And you're welcome to stay there, if you please." Naruto sighed wearily as he ran a hand through his platinum/blond hair.

"May I ask the name of the woman that is being so gracious to allow this?" The purple haired woman smiled bright as she grabbed Naruto's wrist, pulling him in the direction of the inn as he gave an indignant shout.

"My name is Miya Asama, Mr..." Naruto grinned heartily as she dropped his wrist and allowed him to trail alongside her.

"Hatake... Naruto Hatake."

Kakashi grimaced beneath his mask. Ever since the incident where Kurenai had decided she was going to 'teach the Kumo shinobi a lesson', his comrades had been giving him a rather cold shoulder. Even his own squadron of genin. The silver haired Jonin wouldn't be surprised if Gai and Kurenai reported him to the Hokage for consorting with the enemy. But that was just fine with Kakashi. He had come up with a game plan, so to speak, with how the next couple of days were going to play out.

That wasn't to say that Kakashi believed that his plans would go off without a hitch. Far from it actually. He expected there to be a backlash and consequences for what he had planned out. It was better for shinobi to always be prepared for the worst case scenario. Kakashi had learned that first hand many times. His eye crinckled into a u shape as Yugito plopped down onto the ground next to him. "You've been off in thought a lot lately. Are you okay, Kakashi-San?"

"You seem a lot more tolerant of me than you do my comrades." Kakashi replied simply as Yugito smiled, crossing her legs.

"Naruto likes you now apparently. I don't know what you said or did for him, but that's an amazing feat in of itself. He despises Konoha with his very being. He's threatened to completely obliterate it on multiple occasions. I don't blame him. I was there after all, when the accident happened."

Kakashi nodded solemnly. Naruto had told him all about the accident. It had been what lead Kakashi to the decision to put his plans into actions. "I do have a lot on my mind." Kakashi finally answered earnestly. "Nothing that I'm going to say outloud, in the open like we are. But my mind's working at a very quick pace right now. I'm playing out a thousand different scenarios in my mind as we speak. Most of them aren't great results. It's-"

"-Better to be prepared for the worst case scenario than not at all." Kakashi nodded as his eye smile returned. It was true. Kumogakure shinobi were so much more well equiped than Konoha shinobi. He had been shocked to stillness upon learning Naruto and Yugito's ranks. He never would have guessed that they were still of Genin rank. He would definately need to step up and rid himselves of his mutual habits to become better.

"I'm glad at least one Kunoichi understands that concept. My student, Sakura, she doesn't truly understand what it means to be a shinobi yet. Honestly, I think she joined Konoha's shinobi program just to impress Sasuke. That's my Uchiha student." Yugito nodded her head solemnly. It wasn't a rare feat in the world of kunoichi for a woman to do that. And more often than not, it got them nowhere but an early grave six feet under the Earth. It was one of the reasons that Yugito was so proud and confident in herself.

Kakashi's smile dropped as he stood to his feet. "Something big will happen soon. I can feel it. We're three days away from it being a week from our battle with Zabuza. It won't be too much longer for someone of his caliber to be healed. He'll be prepped to fight soon. He'll be coming to get revenge. And I have a feeling that he's not going to be alone this time."

Hiruzen paced back and forth in his office. He had recieved no word whatsoever about the C turned possible S-Rank mission from any of his Jonin. He was becoming increasingly worried. He was in such a harsh position. Send more reinforcements and appear weak. He couldn't do that. He simply couldn't Konoha would be viewed as weak and would lose clientel. Send word and have them retreat? He ran into the exact same problem as if it were the first problem.

And so he was forcing himself to go along with the third option. Leave them to their devices and hope that they were strong willed enough to battle it out over in the Land of Waves. But it had become increasingly nerve racking. He could fell it, deep in his old bones. Something was going to happen on this mission that would not benefit Konoha. In fact, it would cripple it to some degree.

Hiruzen didn't know exactly what it was. There was no way that he could. But he knew that no matter what he did, that same event would occur. It was causing him to have an anxiety attack. He was lucky that he had yet to worry himself into a heart attack. His tabacco pipe was lifted to his lips as he took in a deep puff. He needed something to calm his nerves and quickly. If this dragged on any longer, he was sure to worry himself to death.

"Having a little anxiety attack there, Sensei?" An all too familiar voice spoke as Jiraiya jumped into the man's office through his window. Hiruzen released a sigh of relief as he placed his pipe down for the moment being.

"Jiraiya! Thank Kami that you're here. I've been having a rather tiresome past few weeks. Tell me, what news has your spy network brought to you lately." The news Jiraiya brought always seemed to be good news. Information on an enemy village, the location of a high bounty, things to that effect. And that was exactly what the Sandaime Hokage felt he needed at the current moment. Good news. The white haired man stood with his back to Sarutobi, not allowing the grimace that had set in on his features to be seen.

"My network recently gave me news of this shinobi in Kumogakure." Hiruzen nodded in anticipation. A shinobi in Kumogakure could mean anything. A bouty to someone willing to leave Kumo and joing Konoha. "So I decided to go and have an audience with the Raikage over it. A long story short, I've found Minato's son." Hiruzen's eyes widened considerably as a smile claimed his features. That had been greater news than he had been expecting. As a matter of fact, it had never crossed his mind as to it being the information Jiraiya had learned.

"Oh, great! Is he in the village now? Or did he stay to collect his things and then come?"

"He's not coming." Hiruzen's smile instantly fell and he narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean that he's not coming?"

"I searched for him. And when I found him, he was all grown up. Only fourteen, sure, but he may as well have been a man. He belongs there, Sarutobi-Sensei. I saw it in his eyes. A told me that he has an extreme dislike for Konoha. I don't know why, he wouldn't specify. I couldn't even bring myself to confront him."

"So what now Jiraiya? What is the course of action to bring him to Konoha? What's your plan?"

"There is no plan, Sensei." The Hokage's eyes widened in disbelief as he sat, slack jawed, in his chair. "I wanted my godson back in Konoha more than anything. But when he was a child. I can't do anything with him now. He won't have anything to do with me. It's sad and unfortunate, but it's true. I talked with Tsunade about it, told her everything. She didn't really care per se. Life's changed her after all. But she said to leave him alone. Of course, she'd save anyone the _displeasure_ of entering Konoha.

"And I agree. He should stay in Kumo. There's no reason for him to return now. His friends and family are there now. There is no one here for him." Hiruzen frowned deeply as an angry exhale of oxygen exited his nostrils.

"So you're telling me to leave Minato's legacy, his heir, in Kumogakure? Is that what you're suggesting!?"

"No. I'm suggesting that we leave Naruto in Kumogakure. You're only seeing Minato in this picture. He'd want what was best for his son. And what's best for his son, Sarutobi-Sensei? Well? Fine, if you don't want to say it, then I will. Kumogakure No Sato is what's best for that boy. We should leave him as he is."

Naruto stepped out of Izuna's bath chambers, drying his head with a white towel. Upon his arrival, Miya had forced him to discard his shinobi attire so that it could be cleaned. She had stated that it had a stench worse than most of the stray dogs running aorund the village. That wasn't surprising. Naruto never had the time to wash certain pieces of his uniform that weren't replaceable, such as his flack jacket and shin guards. So now he wore only a pair of baggy black pants. "Hi!"

Naruto quit drying his hair as the towel hung over his eyes. His chest boiled with rage at his own personal stupidity. That was the second time in one single day that he had dropped his guard low enough for someone to get very close to him in a very short amount of time. Maybe he was beginning to lose the abilities that he had been so proud of for so long. The platinum/blond haired shinobi turned and opened his mouth to reply to the feminine voice. His words died in his throat.

The person before him looked exactly like Naruto's former teammate. Exactly like... "Kagari?" The figure, the female, before him gave him a strange look as Naruto gave her another once over. Indeed, she did look exactly like Kagari. Except that Kagari had been quite so feminine, and had never blushed upon talking to him when he wore nothing but his pants. She seemed to recognize Kagari's name, but didn't respond to it as one would if it were there own.

"I'm afraid you have me confused with someone else. My name is Homura." There was no fluctuation of chakra. She was telling the truth then. Naruto sighed drearily as he closed his eyes, his hands gripping around the ends of the towel before he rolled his head around his shoulders. The girl's gaze remained upon his face, and her blush on her cheeks.

"I'm terribly sorry then. You just bear a strong resemblance to someone that I knew. I shouldn't have mistaken you for them anyways." The girl smiled heartily, allowing it to reach her eyes as another girl came to stand next to her.

"Hey Homura. Who's your friend?" Homura narrowed her eyes at the girl next to her. Unbeknownst to Naruto, the red headed girl standing next to her was very tech savy. She had created many things that Hidden Villages would salivate at if they knew it existed. And she used them to spy on everyone at and around Izumo Inn. She knew well who the teen in front of them was. She just had to keep an innocent facade it seemed.

"This is... You never did quite give me your name." Homura knew how to play the innocent act to. She had had plenty of practice at it after all.

"Naruto Hatake." The platinum/blond haired shinobi responded immediately as he bowed slightly.

"Naruto. Naruto, this is Matsu." Naruto allowed a small smile to grace his lips, the red headed girl seeming to gain the exact same blush that had spread across Homura's cheeks.

_'That's rather odd...'_ Again he rolled his neck before releasing a deep breath from his lungs. "A pleasure to meet you, Matsu. You as well, Homura. Now, if you'll both excuse me, I have quite a few things that I need to get done." The whisker marked shinobi stalked past them, heading to the room that Miya had designated for him. Matsu allowed a rather large, perverted grin to spread out over her features.

"You too, Homura?"

"He knew my brother's name..."

Kagari's body slammed against the ground viciously as he stared into Naruto's eyes with his own. "Y-You... You idiot!" Naruto cried out as he jumped towards his comrade. A boot slammed harshly into his gut, sending him skidding along the ground. Yugito cried out as a fist slammed into her own abdomen. Pain rushed through Naruto's body like fire as he crawled towards his comrade, removing his black half face mask, blood dribbling from his lips. The towering shinobi with the sword laughed menacingly at them. "Why... Why'd you do it, Kagari!?" The silver haired boy smiled faintly.

"You're my Ashikabi."

"Your what?" Kagari released a pained groan of pain as he grasped at his wound.

"I'm afraid that I don't have time to explain it to you now... Wipe that look off of your face. It's unbecoming. Don't worry, I don't have any romantic feelings for you or any bullshit like that. More brotherly. But the bond between each Ashikabi and-" Kagari coughed blood up violently, consuming the next word that he spoke. "-are different from person to person. I couldn't sit idle and let you die, you see." Naruto grabbed onto the boy's long coat, his tears staining the ground as Kagari smiled.

"Don't cry, Naruto. You're my brother, and I'm proud to have died for you. See? I'm smiling, aren't I? Do me a favor? Take care of my katana blade for me. She's... she's gonna need someone to take care of her... after I'm gone." The sheathed weapon found itself in Naruto's grasp as Kagari held his digits around the sheath tightly. The light from the light headed boy's eyes began to fade as Naruto grit his teeth. "This isn't goodbye, Naruto... This is just see you later..."

And then he was gone.

Naruto bolted upright as he panted and heaved. Vomit threatened to spill from his mouth as he held his hand over his lips. He had been successful in keeping those dreams at bay for the longest time. And now everything was just threatening to break through the surface. It didn't help that the light haired shinobi had ran into Kagari's female clone. The door to his room opened silently and Miya poked her head in, eyes concerned. "Are you okay, Naruto?" The platinum/blond haired boy nodded silently.

"I'm fine. Just a bad case of the night terrors I guess. It happens to everyone, even the greatest of shinobi." The woman nodded in agreement as she entered the room, closing the door behind her. Naruto glanced at her quizically. "How exactly did you know that something was wrong with me?" The purple haired woman smile at him, her eyes closing briefly as she gave her own distinctive laugh.

"I know everything that occurs in Izumo Inn."

Zabuza glared menacingly at the man that stood before him. "You don't scare me." The rogue Kirigakure shinobi stated in a mtter of fact tone. The arrogant mercenary before him returned the gesture as his nose crinckled at the shinobi.

"I know I don't, Zabuza. But I should. And you'll come to both learn and respect that fact. Now, let's make something clear right here and now. You will come to fear me. And when we go into battle soon, very soon, you will refrain from staying in my way. Make no mistake about it, just as easily as your apprentice was dispatched so I could speak to you, I will dispatch you just as easily." Zabuza scoffed in response as he waved the man before him away.

"I'm not afraid of anybody, and I'm not afraid of death. You can try all you want to to frighten me, but you wont' Gato hired you because I got caught of guard, _once_. It's not going to happen again. I'm prepared for what I wasn't last time. As for Haku, he can easily defend himself. I'm sure that if your two little dogs had caught him by surprise that he would have faired just fine." The man before him grinned in response as he rolled his neck.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps you can't quite escape the idea that you and your apprentice are worthless compared next to me. There is a reason why Gato hired me to do this. I am the greatest mercenary right now because I get all of my contracts completed. Now, listen to me Zabuza. And listen very carefully. I don't like you. In fact, if Gato didn't insist on me allowing you to live, then I would simply kill you right here and now.

"But I'm not allowed to. You're a strong willed man, Zabuza. But make no mistake about it. I will break you. I will take everything that has made you the Demon of the Bloody Mist and will turn you into nothing but an infant crying out for his mother to recue him from the big bad Bogeyman. Take heed, Zabuza. Once we have completed what we have been hired to do, I will kill you. Just as I will kill everyone that's standing in my way on that bridge in just a few days." A sadistic smile spread over the man's features as Zabuza stood to his full height despite his pain.

"You can try, and I'll knock you straight back to the ground." The man before Zabuza allowed his grin to stretch wider and reach his eyes. Then he struck out with a vicious kick that sent the Kirigakure shinobi down to his knees. He refused to cry out in pain, however, as the man's foot then slammed into his throat, pinning him to the floor.

"If a child steps up to a true warrior then that child will die. You are nothing but a child to me Zabuza. And trust me, I have ascended past the point of a mere warrior. Even if you could fight at the level of a warrior, I am a _god_." Zabuza snarled up at his apparent 'comrade' as he smiled insanely down upon the rogue ninja. "Now, I'm going to release you and leave. And I'll see you only on the bridge in two days time. If you get in my way? I will cut you down. Goodbye, Zabuza."

A stared directly across his office, almost as if he were a statue. All traffic to and fro from his office had been subdued. No one was allowed to enter the Raikage's office as he was facing a crisis. Said office lied in shambles, holes decorating the walls, the floors having caved in, people watching the muscular man from the floor underneath. His desk was splintered into thousands of tiny pieces, and there were no windows left in his office. His chair had also been decimated. A sat in the seat, only the seat, of the chair on the floor.

Directly across from the Yondaime Raikage, at his current eye level, a nail had been hammered into his wooden doors. And hung on that door was the exact same mask that he had retrieved from his library office at home. He had never wanted to see that mask again. It taunted him. Always cold, always emotionless. Just like the person underneath the mask. It was well known that the Hei clan, whithin a span of fourty eight hours at the least, of having used their powers felt no emotions.

The only reaction you could get out of them was a grunt of pain, for the most part. Some's power had driven them mad and instead they felt nothing but insanity claiming their minds time and time again until there was no rationality left. It was why the Hei clan had become so feared so quickly. And also why they normally refrained from using their powers. Even those on normal mission used regular jutsu or other special abilities. They refused to use their 'Contractor' abilities as much as possible.

The only ninja that the Raikage knew that had used their powers excessively had been his Contractor Anbu. It had unnerved him at times. Even when their masks had come off, it had been as if they still bore them across their skulls. They showed no emotion. For they had none because of those powers. It was why A felt that the masks mocked him so. When his Contractor Anbu placed those masks on their skulls they became completely different people.

Every single mask had been different and unique to each member of the Contractor Anbu division. But they had all had one thing in common. They stole his shinobi's emotions. They turned them into a hull of a human who felt nothing but pain. Admittedly, it wasn't the mask, but the powers. But the mask was just as guilty. There was no obligation to use the powers of the Hei clan unless that mask was donned upon someone's head.

It was why the mask before him was mocking him. Almost as if it were speaking to him. "You should have listened to me." The mask seemed to say. "I told you not to retire me. Not to retire the Contractor Division. But you did, and now look what's happened. Are you happy now, A? Are these the results that you wanted when you disbanded your own personal division of the Anbu?

"Face the facts, A. This village has needed the Contract powers of the Hei clan since they stepped foot in this village. And you've been denying everyone of that protection for how long now? Tell me. How long has it been since you locked me away in that drawer, A? How long until you told me that you would never take me back out of that drawer? How long!?" A remained silent. The mask wasn't talking to him. It was his own psyche.

He was stressed, and had come to the decision to bring one of the many things he had said he never would back to fruition. And so he came to cope with the aspect of the mask talking to him. Taunting him as it laughed. Pointing out the many flaws that he had preformed. And it all drifted back to the disbanding of the Contractor Anbu. "Don't get comfortable." A snarled under his breath. No one on the floor below him heard, which was a rather good thing at the current moment.

In his current crisis, he didn't need his shinobi and civilians thinking that he had become insane. "Contractor Anbu aren't going to be the same. They'll do regular mission too this time. They're not going to be condemned to you. You're not going to claim their humanity such as you did the last go around. At most, you're an on hand type of thing. For dangerous missions that I need completed immediately. That's it. Don't think I'm turning my shinobi into lifeless shells again. Never again."

Naruto sighed as he stared out of his room's only window. He had relayed his dream, his constant living nightmare, to Miya. He didn't quite know why he did, but he felt a connection of sorts with her. A connection that he hadn't felt since his time with Kagari. He feared to look back at Miya. Because he feared that she would see his emotions. At the present, he was wearing them on his sleeve. It was something he didn't do often on missions. A loud thump brought him to reality as he swirled on his heels.

Miya had fallen to the ground on all fours, panting heavily. Her cheeks were flushed in a similar manor to what had been on Homura and Matsu's faces. The light haired shinobi rushed forwards, sliding across the wooden floor as he grabbed ahold of the purple haired woman's shoulders. "Miya? Miya re you okay!? Can you talk to me?" His medical training was kicking in. Every shinobi in Kumo were taught at least the basics of Medical Ninjutsu. And they were trained to find causes and symptoms of someone whom needed medical attention. Miya's head raised and her brown eyes met Naruto's electric blue.

"I'm sorry. It's just that... You're my Ashikabi." Naruto's eyes widened as they gained a farawar glaze, his mouth opening ever so slightly.

_"Why... Why'd you do it, Kagari!?" The silver haired boy smiled faintly._

_"You're my Ashikabi."_

Miya smiled faintly as she leaned towards Naruto. The boy's eyes lost their glaze, just in time as Miya's lips connect with his own. Immediately, purple wings shot from her back, illuminating the entire room in its darkened state. They grew and expanded as Miya gave a small noise of pleasure, Naruto's eyes widening in complete shock as he observed the wings. As Miya broke the intimate act, Naruto observed her critically. "What exactly was that...?" Miya smiled in an apologetic way.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. You deserve a few answers now that I've allowed myself to be winged by you."

"Winged?" Miya nodded.

"My clan, the one that I said owns this Inn, is a special clan. We're rather secretive for a very specific reason. Our Kekkei Genkai. We call it the Sekirei Kekkei Genkai. Anyone born into our clan is a 'Sekirei'. When we're born, we all have our very own crest somewhere on our backs. And we all have the ability to be winged. To be winged, as you asked, it when a Sekirei find their Ashikabi. Their Ashikabi is the person that a Sekirei reacts to.

"Our crests are what causes us to react to people. They recognize them as the person that we're meant to bond with. That's part of the bloodline. When a Sekirei and their Ashikabi kiss, it is called winging, because of the wings that you witnessed. It bonds a Sekirei to an Ashikabi, for the most part, forever. At that point, our bloodline unleashes the full potential of our powers. Powers are different from every member of our clan, the Minaka Clan. An Ashikabi has the ability to 'wing' more than one Sekirei.

"That's why Kagari, your teammate, said that you were his Ashikabi. He reacted to you. Bear in mind that not all Sekirei and Ashikabi relationships are the same. Where my feelings towrds you as my Ashikabi are romantic, his were more brotherly. There are also very specific rules inside of the Minaka clan. Since we're not actually a close knit clan but descendants of our bloodlines originator spread out through the world, Sekirei normally hold each other in disdain.

"It's almost in our genetic genes to wish to fight each other and prove dominance. Which is why the rules exist. We can't attack each other's Ashikabis, that is strictly forbidden. Some Sekirei have the right to if other Sekirei have spiraled out of control. They are the ones that enforce our clans rules. Sekirei are also not allowed to 'double team' each other. Battles must be one on one, two on two, etc etera."

"So you're a clan, whose bloodline tells them who they're destined to be with, in whatever type of relationship, and then a kiss unleashes your full powers?" Naruto deadpanned as he backpedaled away from his, apparent, Sekirei. "And it can't be broken? You could've warned me about all of this before you invited me to your Inn! I have plenty of things I have to worry about, and now I have to add 'eternal bonds that may or may not grow to be a harem' to my list!" Miya recoiled as tears immediately welled in her eyes.

Naruto's own widened as he bit his tongue. His biggest fault was that he couldn't bear to see women cry. Women not from Konoha anyways. Ever since he was small, he had never been eligible to let the opposite sex sit and cry in front of him. The light haired teen moved fowards with a heavy sigh as he fell back to his knee, wrapping the woman in a hug. "No... calm down... No don't sob! Miya, as your Ashikabi I demand that you not cry!"

The Kumogakure shinobi listened as the woman who threatened to let her tears spill from her eyes mumbled into his bare chest. "No... No I'm not mad Miya, just... Just surprised. Yeah that's the word, _surprised_. Now quite crying. I don't watch woman cry." The two sat in silence as Miya fought to keep her tears from spilling. A few hiccups escaped her as her body shook in her Ashikabi's grip.

"Well, well, Miya, that's a little cheap, isn't it?" Naruto tensed as he lurched to his feet, Miya still firmly held against his chest as he glared at the figure who had intruded through the window he had been staring out of moments prior. It was a woman,with long light grey hair tied in a pony tail and grey narrow eyes. She was dressed in a tight black leather top, a miniskirt and stockings, and wore a grey haori over her shoulders. She sat on Naruto's temporary window seal, a sword resting in her lap. "You didn't even give the rest of us a chance to get to him first, hm?"

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Naruto questioned with a snarl as he accessed the situation, locating his four swords that he had scattered around the room for just such occasions. Miya smiled gently and patted his arm as she shook her head.

"Naruto, this is Karasuba. She's another of the Sekirei that's reacting to you. You're a rather strong Ashikabi, you know?"

Jiraiya raised his head to the sky and stared at the clouds heatedly for a long moment. THen his facial features broke into a bright grin. He hadn't raised Naruto as he had wanted to, but the boy was his godson, and he had a connection of sorts to the boy... Even if the boy didn't know Jiraiya from Hanzo the Salamander. And he had just walked into a situation that Jiraiya would have been proud of his for. He didn't quite know what that situation was, but he knew. Oh yes, Jiraiya knew very well.

The following morning, Miya watched Naruto's shinobi attire dressed form with concern. After Karasuba's arrival, the grey haired Sekirei had winged herself to Naruto much the same as Miya had. The three had then proceeded in remaining in Naruto's room, the two Sekirei going a little more in depth in explanation of what Naruto's role as an Ashikabi actually meant. Karasuba had proceeded to reveal to Naruto the location of Gato's location to the light haired teen. He had immediately begun dressing himself for battle.

"Are you sure you want to brave this alone?" Miya questioned as Karasuba came to stand beside her. The grey haired woman would never show it, but she was just as concerned for her new Ashikabi. "We are your Sekirei after all. The purpose of our life now is to fight for and with you." Naruto halted in his steps as he glanced over to the purple haired woman.

"I appreciate the sentiments, Miya, Karasuba, but I am a Kumogakure shinobi and am fully capable of handling this situation myself. If you want to make me happy as your 'Ashikabi', keep yourself as far away from Gato's location as you possibly can. And make sure you're both safe. I want to know more about this whole Sekirei/Ashikabi business. I want to know more about where Kagari came from."

"I've seen your Kumo partner." Karasuba spoke up as he began to leave the Inn once again. "Are you sure you shouldn't alert her to what you're doing? This is her mission as well." Naruto shook his head in response as he opened the door. The sun had yet to break up over the horizon.

"Yugito and I made a plan coming into this mission. The mission is in two parts, protect Tazuna and assassinate Gato. There are two of us. One of us was to stay within Tazuna's vicinity at all times. The other was to assassinate Gato. I'm the one that's to assassinate Gato. That's more of my specialty than it is hers. If you're wanting to be 'bonded' to me for the rest of your lives, you'll learn that quickly. My past is stained in blood." The door gently closed behind Naruto as he set off for his destination.

Naruto stood to his feet as he brandished Kagari's katana. "You're dead. You're all dead now. You've killed my brother, and now I'll kill you. An eye for an eye. A heart for a heart. A soul for a soul." The large man whom held the sword that had pierced through Kagari laughed harshly.

"I'm Abirama Redder of Konohagakure No Sato you little fucker! You're not going to do anything to me! You know what? If you guys kill this runt, I might just let you rape his blonde friend over there!"

Yugito awoke with a start, panting heavily. It was that dream again. She didn't have it often, but when she did, Naruto was always about to do something dangerous. Which meant that he was more than likely setting out to assassinate Gato. She hoped he succeeded. She lay back down in her futon as she ignored the light sounds of the sleeping Konoha Kunoichi. She remembered that day all to well. After that, Naruto had rushed them all, and slaughtered them. Lightning rang down from the heavens with no use of jutsu or techniques whatsoever. As if Raiden himself was assisting Naruto in battle.

That had been the moment Naruto had begun to hate Konoha. Perhaps the seeds had been planted when his had met his mentor, C. But it had truly began when that man had identified himself as a Konohagakure shinobi. Naruto had condemned the entire shinobi village because of the men claiming his best friend/brother figure's life. Had raged for days, training nonstop with the vow that he would eradicate the entire village. It had taken many people and many attempts to calm the Jinchuriki. A sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes in an attempt to get more sleep.

The mercenary known as Alpacacino sighed angrily as he stood in front of Gato's headquarters door. He was the only guard that had gotten stuck with guard dut that night. It infuriated him to no end. Everyone else was geeting prepared for the planned raid of Tazuna's bridge. But not Alpacacino. No, he was stuck guarding a door. Another sigh escaped him as he began to scratch his arms. The itch wouldn't subsides so he scratched harsher.

Blood escaped his arms as his nails peeled away at his skin. He couldn't stop his arms! They were working one theri own accord! They pierced down into the inside of his arms, touching pain as pain flared throughout him like a wild fire. He fell to his knees screaming in pain. As he did so, Naruto dropped down next to him, landing a vicious blow to the back of his neck with a sickening crack. There was no blood covering the man. A simple genjutsu, easily breakable by even the most ignorant of genin. Naruto snorted in disdain.

As Naruto entered the headquarters and marched to the top room, he found a man sitting in the brain of the operation's chair. But he was definately not Gato. He was tall, muscular man with a medium-dark tan. He has short black hair in spikes to the back. He had the letters DSMK tattooed above his right eye, which was covered by an eyepatch. His outfit consisted of dark blue pants with a black belt and a black, long coat. He grinned sadistically at Naruto's appearance. "Well hey there kid. You know I've been awaiting your arrival for some time now?"

"Are you the second mercenary that Gato's been rumored to hire?"

"I could be... But I'm not. I'm the third that know one knows about. The one that's going to kill you." Naruto tensed as the man stood to his feet. "Get ready punk... I'm gonna hit you dead center in your heart." A knife protruded from the man's sleeve. Naruto prepared himself for it to come at him. He was shocked however when the man slit his own wrists. And even more so as the blood didn't fall or pour, but floated around him in the air. It almost seemed like the powers of Kumo's almost deceased Hei clan. But it wasn't. Naruto had known all of those members personally.

"Some power you got there." Naruto commented as he removed his Dao swords expertly. "Mind telling me who I'm facing before I decpitate you?" The man's sadistic grin widened farther.

"You're facing Senji Kiyomasa, Crow of the Ganta Clan!" Naruto nodded slowly. He didn't know a Ganta clan off the top of his head, but that could wait until later. Now, he had to beat this self proclaimed Crow into the graveyard. No more words were spoken as Naruto rushed forwards. The man slung his arm wildly, the blood shooting out to whipe Naruto across the face. It burned like a raging fire as he was forced to stumble backwards, the man laughing at his pain. Naruto twirled his right sword into a reverse grip as he cracked his neck explosively.

He hadn't believed that the blood would take a solidified form. He wouldn't make that same mistake twice. He rushed forwards again, the whips of blood once again shooting at him. Naruto ducked underneath the whips, his foot lashing out at the man's abdomen. He jumped away just in time, his whips of blood cracking off of Naruto's back violently. The light haired shinobi arched his back and grit his teeth. That was twice.

The blood came sailing at him, though he rushed forwards and slid underneath them. His foot lashed out, slamming into the man's shin. He screamed as Naruto lurched upwards, driving his fist into the man's chest. He stumbled back, out of breath, as Naruto came at his again. He blocked Naruto's neck strike with his bleeding left arm before delivering his own to the platinum/blond's solar plexus. Naruto choked before spinning, his foot driving into the man's gut. Senji bent over in pain as Naruto's foot slammed into the side of his skull.

The older man's vision became blurry as he fell to one knee. Naruto's arm swung in an arch to behead the man. He was stopped by the whips of blood as they wrapped around his body before dragging him up into a crucifix formation. Senji chuckled violently as he wipe a stream of blood away from his mouth. "Wow, I thought that'd last longer. I've heard so much about you. All of the rumors of how strong you were. I guess they were just that though, weren't they? Rumors and myths and lies!"

Naruto said nothing as the blood whips threatened to crush his very being. His Dual Dao swords clanged to the ground loudly. "What's the matter? Crow got your tongue? You thought it'd just be that easy didn't you? Kill one guard outside and then kill Gato? No, you see, he's a smart man. That's why he hired me to kill you. I did it for free. Why? Because I've wanted to fight you for the longest time. I know all about who you are and who you've worked for. The prospect of fighting you got me so excited.

"And then it turns out to be a blunder. The Hakkinkaku of the Kaku clan? The supposed Jinchuriki of the Kyubi No Kitsune? Naruto of Kumo? Are you truly him, or an imposter? Or was it all lies to boast your and Kumo's reputations. Come on. you can tell me. Don't take these secrets to the grave with you! Let someone in on them! And who better than the guy taking you out of this world!?" Again, Naruto said nothing causing the man to snarl in frustration. The whips grew tighter around the whisker marked Ashikabi as Senji bent down to retrieve one of Naruto's Dao swords.

"Not gonna talk, huh? Keeping a tight lid on all of Kumo's secrets? You should've spilled your guts to me kid. I might've let you live. Who the fuck am I kidding, I kill little liars like you before breakfast! So you know what I'm gonna do to you? Hm? Well, first I'm gonna cut you up, real bad. Real real bad. Then I'm gonna smash the majority of your bones down into _dust_! Then I'm gonna slice you open. And just before you completely bleed out, I know how long it takes, I've timed it, I'm gonna crush your throat with my whips.

"That way, not only are you going to die feeling your inside spill from within you, but your going to suffocate. And I'm going to enjoy it the entire time. Hell, who knows, I might just get off on this one! Well, it's been real, and it's been fun... But it ain't been real fun brat. So here you go. Just like I promised! It's time I hit you dead center!"

"Before you do." Naruto choked out, the whips lessening as Kenji smirked.

"I knew you'd see it my way. Go ahead, I like my victims spilling their guts out to me. It's like foreplay."

"I was testing you." Senji frowned deeply. "Testing the powers of the so called 'Ganta Clan'. They surpassed what I expected them to be upon first glance. I'm sorry I didn't truly take our battle seriously. I would have liked to drag your death out more. But I'm afraid I don't have time to squabble with you any longer. Chidori Nagashi!" Black Lightning shot from Naruto's body, illuminating the immediate area, as it entered Shinji's own body. The man screamed in pain as he fell to both knees, dropping Naruto's Dao.

The whips of blood splashed to the ground as Naruto dropped to his feet, retrieving his swords. They were immediately at Shinji's throat, inan 'X' fashion. "So you got me, huh...? I should've known better. You're every bit as manipulative as the rumors say you are. You pulled the strings the entire fight. And I didn't even realize. Well kid, any words before you send me off to hell?"

"... When you get there, and they ask you how you died, tell them you got hit dead center." The man chuckled sadistically at the words. Then the swords jerked from their positions in a sissor like fashion. Senji's head rolled off of his body and onto the floor. "Another clan like the Hei Clan? Who would've guessed? How has the Minaka and Ganta clans gone under the radars for so long...?"

Chapter four done. _**Important Plot wise:**_ So at first this was a strictly Naruto fanfiction. But then I got to typing and I started thinking about my other favorite anime's. And I didn't really want to stick strictly to Naruto's plot cause I've done that a lot. And in a story where Naruto isn't in Konoha, I get stuck around or after the Chunin exams. I needed some plots to fall back on. So here are the Animes that I've crossed over with so far. The 'Minaka Clan' is my crossover with Sekirei. Totally recommend to watch it, but it's kinda perverted. Like Rosario Vampire. The 'Ganta Clan' is a corssover from Deadman Wonderland.

The 'Contractor Anbu' are a crossover with Darker Than Black as I've already explained. And the Alpacacino guy? I found the name by typing in 'List of anime filler characters' and it was on a One Piece sight... I don't know if it's a guy or a girl or whatever. And Abirama Redder is from Bleach. Basically, I was looking for a guy who looked like a dick and that I knew for certain I wasn't going to use later in the story... He fit the bill. Up until this chapter, I hadn't even decided to add Sekirei into the plot.

But when I'm typing these, it doesn't tell me how many words so I go by KB's. For this story I've been aiming for 57 KB's per chapter. At least. SO I got like to 20 KB and was like 'shit I ain't got nothing to put down! I've already worn the mask out, it ain't saying shit to A now! What do I do!?' And so I was like 'fuck it, time to go Sekirei'. Which isn't bad. I've been wanting to write a Naruto/Sekirei fanfiction for a while, I just feel too lazy to start another story after writing so many chapters for this one. Plus I don't want to have to write that damn disclaimer again!

As for chapters, I'm so close to finishing the Land of Waves Arch it isn't even funny. Matter of fact, you can look forward to the battle starting next chapter. I wanted to start it on chapter five and so I will. So I'll probably have the entire Wave arch complete before I post this story. Which is great for anyone who actually likes the crap I've been writing nonstop for three days straight. It's frickin' 12:14 right now... AM... But anyways, bad for me cause Everytime I post a story I refuse to use my Email account.

Because I'm afraid of flaming... You can laugh at me now...


	5. Chapter 5

Quick note sometimes check the bottom pages after the chapter. I give a few notes that are important.

Miya and Karasuba observed their Ashikabi critically. He had come back from his escapade relatively unharmed, besides brandishing a few fresh whipping marks. His electric blue eyes were like pieces of steel as he paced back and forth across the main room if Izuma Inn. "So, he wasn't there." Karasuba questioned as she lost her ever present sadistic smile. That, in of itself, was a rather great feat. "He had been there moments before I came here to the Inn. He shouldn't have been able to get out so quickly."

"It is strange." Miya spoke up as she rubbed her arm gently. Her eyes stayed focused on her light haired Ashikabi. He was still rather weary of both her and Karasuba both. Not that she could particularly blame him. He'd probably be even more weary if he found out what the two had decided to keep from him. "If he was so quick to escape the building, then he has something planned. And he wanted to see it through to the very end. But what could that be exactly?" Naruto's blue eyes widened.

He had allowed himself to slip within the past few day. Had allowed three, his teeth grit at that number, three people to sneak past his ssensor defenses. But he was still a sensor shinobi, and a rather good one at that. He knew a person's signature chakra signature anywhere once he had interracted with them once. And he felt both Zabuza and his apprentice's chakra signature fast approaching the bridge that was nearing its completion cycle. Three other chakra signatures rushed next to the two familiar signature. Two were relatively unknown to Naruto. But the third...

Naruto's eyes widened to a much greater proportion. "That's... Impossible! I have to get to the bridge!" Naruto rushed from Izuma Inn with a burst of his chakra, the door slamming behind him as his Sekirei watched, stunned at the impressive burst of speed. Karasuba's grin slowly spread back out across her features as she turned towards Miya, brandishing her sword in her hand.

"What do you say, Number 01? Do you think it's about time for a little... discipline?"

Yugito's eyes narrowed dangerously as she tensed. Kakashi quickly came to stand next to her, his hiatate rising to allow his sharingan to be brandished proudly. The bridge was covered in a thick mist. Thicker than any natural mist, unless it was a nautral chakra powered phenomenon. The Land of Waves was no place for such a phenomenon. But, even that wasn't what had the Nibi Jinchuriki so tensed. No, the crimson blood stained bodies that littered the bridge like everyday trash was what had her tensed.

The construction workers had died in a variety of ways. They had been decapitated, impaled, whipped, run through with pieces of ice and it even appeared that pieces of their bodies and been completely blown off. It was a horrendous sight, one at which both Sakura and Hinata released the contents of their stomachs. The rest of the genin wore a rather unhealthy shade of green hue. Tenten's chest heaved involuntarily before she clenched it in pain. Yugito dropped down in a rather low crouch.

And the sound of a man's sadistic laugh reacher their ears. He laughed insanely as Zabuza made himself present through the mist alongside his white masked apprentice. He was smiling, but definately not the owner of the laugh that rang out over the mist. "Hello again..." Zabuza spoke with a tone filled to the brim with sadistic glee. "... I hope you've been doing as well as I have since our little squabble you bunch of brats. Otherwise, killing you's just not going to be as fun."

Kakashi's muscled tensed as he stared down Zabuza. Something had changed in the man within their brief last meeting. Something had become more dangerous about it. He didn't quite know what it was. But it was definately there. And it was going to factor into the battle tremendously. "We're not afraid of you, Zabuza." Kakashi returned, though the trembling genin that stood behind him did nothing to back that fact up. "We defeated you once before, and we'll do it again. And this time, there will be no accomplice to save you." The Demon of the Bloody Mist laughed.

"I was taken by surprise, Kakashi. It won't happen again. And make no mistake Kakashi, I didn't come into this battle alone. I brought my own little team of backup. A little team that's going to rub yours into the Earth." The mysterious man's laughter echoed once again. And then he appeared through the mist. He had an elfish appearance with narrow eyes, pointy ears and shoulder-length black hair. He wore a green shirt with white outline and baggy black pants. Behind him, two girls stood.

One was a girl with long blond hair. She wore black stockings, a black Chinese styled dress with one yellow vertical stripe in the middle of it. She grinned in, not a sadistic manner, but one that promised she would relish in any pain that she inflicted upon them. Next to her stood a girl with short, light brown hair and her face in a blank, depressed expression. Her clothes consisted of a top that was a white shirt with long, flowing sleeves in a similar make to a kimono, but that was where the similarities ended.

A cut out for her head was lined with black fabric and was then the standard cutout for her head, it was wider, allowing some of Akitsu's shoulders to be seen and then going down in a very low V cut that showed off nearly a third of her breasts and stopped at her upper stomach. A black obi with a bow in the front held the shirt tightly against her body. She had chains in her ensemble, which was used to bind her clothes together above her breasts, while the other set looped around her neck and then went down between her cleavage. Kakashi felt off put by her completely emotionless demeanor.

"Hello to you all." The man spoke as he tilted his head to the side. "I want you to know that I've been watching you. Accessing your abilities. And you were all ignorant enough to not notice me. So many chances I had to kill you all. But I want your deaths long, and drawn out. I want to torture you and see you scream. These men lying around you? They died rather quickly. It goes against my style. And it pisses me off. I'm going to draw out your deaths that much longer.

For every second that I had to draw off of these men's deaths, then you will feel it for them. And I'm going to enjoy it every second of the way." The man's blood thirsty smile crossed his features as he produced a knife, forcing Kakashi to tense immediately. He pressed the blade against his own skin, shocking the on looking Konoha and Kumo shinobi as insanity claimed his very soul. "Before you die? Allow me to introduce my self! Your killer is-"

"-Wei Zhijin!" Everyone's attention drew away from the elfish man to a crane that hung high in the air. Naruto sat, crouched, upon its long mechanical arm, glaring down at them all with ferocity. "When I felt you chakra signature, I didn't want to believe that it was you. But I should've known that you were one of the ones that escaped." Wei's smiled stretched even wider as he cuckled insanely.

"Well hello, Naruto. It's nice to see you again... Brother." Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously as he lurched from the crane, landing at a much shorter distance away from the opposing shinobi than the rest of the others on the bridge.

"Don't call me that. You lost the right to call me brother long ago. When you decided that you were going to abandon our village to save your own ass. But I shouldn't have been surprised at that either, should I? When you used your powers, you were one of the ones who became increasingly insane. I should've seen it. I should've known that you would do such a lowly things. Because you're scum."

"Come now, Naruto, even you can not be completely loyal to one thing. You should have come with me, my brother. You would have been safer than you were in Kumogakure. You would have been more loved with me. I would have raised you to be a true member of our clan." Naruto's fist tightened until his knuckles became an unhealthy shade of white.

"You would have taught me nothing but insanity. The power of corruption and greed. And I stayed in Kumo for a reason. That is my one and only home. I stayed and remained loyal to both my village and my clan while you ran like the coward that you've always been. I've never truly understood how the Raikage assumed that you belonged in _that_ division." Wei smiled discharmingly as his head cocked to the opposite side.

"What're they talking about?" Sasuke questioned as he spoke to Kakashi for the first time in days. It was Yugito who answered.

"Naruto and Wei were both members of a very special clan inside Kumogakure. The Hei clan. I'm not going to go in depth about their abilities. You'll see soon enough. But a few years ago, the clan imploded in on itself. They had a Civil War that the Raikage was helpless to stop. They slaughtered each other. Naruto is the only member of the Hei clan that remains inside of Kumogakure. The others are either dead, or scattered out over the elemental nations. I never thought I'd see another member of the Hei Clan again, but..."

"Now now, Naruto... You know that we're not supposed to talk about that. Do you see? Right there you betrayed Kumo by almost revealing one of their most secretive operations. Don't you see it, brother? You and I? We're exactly the same! Come, cross the thresh hold and join me in the merciless slaughter of the ones you would call temporary allies." Naruto glared angrily at Wei as he clenched his fists harshly enough that blood drew from his nails biting into his skin. Rage and hate burned heavily in his electric eyes.

"I am _**nothing**_ like you, Wei! And make no mistake about it. I hate Konoha with every fiber of my being. My hurt burns with the passion to lay siege to the entire village. And I will see that passion through. I will watch as it burns to the ground, laughing as I do so. But I hate you more. It's almost statistically impossible, but it's true. You, you and all of our fellow Hei clan members that ran away.

"Ran when they should have stayed and fought alongside me. Those who would have lived regardless of the results of our Civil War. I hate you all more than I hate Konoha. Because while you were running my best friend was being murdered. My true brother was being slaughtered saving me while you were all saving your own asses! You all could have been there as support. It was a mission for that division after all. But no! You were too wrapped up in your own petty thoughts!

"Well, today it ends, Wei. Today I kill you and removed another member of the Hei clan from the physical plane." The elfish Hei clan member smiled again as the blade sliced through both of his wrists, much as Senji had during his battle with Naruto. Though, this time, no blood flowed in whip like formations. No blood rushed towards him to constrict him. No, it rolled around his wrists.

It was disarming for many people. It was no weapon, an insane man cutting himself before battle. Perhaps a pre battle ritual. But Naruto knew better. He knew Hei personally. He had fought alongside Hei multiple times in battle. And his blood was a weapon. His contract, the contract his power required, coincided with his power itself. It was one of the things that made him more lethal than many of the other Hei Clan members. Naruto dropped down into a low crouch, mimicking the platinum/blond haired Kumogakure shinobi.

Everyone else on the bridge tensed visibly. This was what everyone had been anticipating. The battle that would decide the fate of both side's mission. Naruto's eyes shot over his shoulder briefly. His hamstings tightened as he prepared to rush forwards. He shot backwards as he dodged a vicious whip used by the blond haired girl standing behind Wei. The sadistic Hei clan member chuckled. "Naruto, I'd like you to meet my Sekirei, Mitsuha. The one standing beside her is Akitsu. She's also a Sekirei. Just not mine." Naruto's eyes widened at the implications.

If what Miya and Karasuba had told him was true, then they were both very dangerous. Depending on their 'number', the lowest being the stongest, that would determine how strong they were 'unwinged'. And he had been told that their powers grew exponentially after they were 'winged'. Which meant that everyone on the bridge was in danger. He wasn't too concerned with the majority of Konoha's shinobi. But there were two people on the bridge that he wanted to live.

"It's against Minaka Clan rules to attack another Sekirei's Ashikabi." The blond haired girl, Mitsuha's, eyes widened considerably as everyone's heads swiveled once again to an overhanging crane. Naruto's two Sekirei, Karasuba and Miya, now stood atop it. Miya had forgone her apparent casual attire and now wore an exact replica of Karasuba's outfit. Her hair was in a less neat, innocent hairstyle and her eyes had become much colder and harsher. She glared down upon the two Sekirei on the bridge. Mitsuha released a choked sob as she stumbled backwards in fear.

"The Disciplinary Squad!"

"What's the matter? You were so gun ho to attack our Ashikabi? You should be prepared to face the consequences!" Mitsuha shivered violently under the gaze of the protectors of her clans rules. They were rutheless, and merciless. They slaughtered Sekirei indiscriminately. And they were bearing down on her.

"So you're an Ashikabi as well, Naruto?" Wei chuckled viciously as his blood splattered onto the concrete pavement of the bridge. "It must be a hereditary factor in the Mei clan then? Or perhaps the Hei clan and the Minaka clan are just reasonably compatible?" His eyes widened as his smile showed gritted teeth. "Two of them at that... You always had to prove you were better, Naruto. Younger and better than Mei. But not today! Mitsuha, Akitsu, kill his Sekirei." Neither of the two clanswomen moved. "What are you waiting for!?"

"You don't understand Wei! They're members of the Disciplinary Squad! They're the ones who enforce the laws of our clan! They are above the laws! Anything I'm not allowed to do, they can! And they're both single numbers! Miya is Number 01 and Karasuba is Number 04. They were stronger than most Sekirei unwinged! But now that they _are_ winged!? Their powers must be off of the scales!" Wei snarled viciously.

"I don't care, Mitsuha! I am your Ashikabi! You will fight for me! And Akitsu! When you were broken and no one wanted you, who took you in? Who accepted you as his Sekirei even when you were unwingable!? You two will fight for me and you will fight for me now!" Mitsuha released a frightened sob. Then she and Akitsu tensed and dropped into their battle stances as Miya and Karasuba descended to stand next to Naruto.

"Then fight." Naruto spoke simply as he rolled his neck. "Kakashi, you and your squads deal with Zabuza and his accomplice. This battle is strictly between the three of us. Sekirei vs Sekirei. And Contractor vs Contractor." Wei laughed maniacally. And then hell on Earth was released as everyone rushed forwards at once. Ice shot from Akitsu towards Karasuba, who simply sliced the pieces of frozen liquid in half as she slowly walked towards the 'unwingable Sekirei'. Kakashi's kunai slammed into Zabuza's Kubikiribocho as the rogue shinobi's foot lashed out and crashed into the Gai's gut.

Kurenai jumped back farther as she attempted to place Zabuza in a genjutsu. The task proved impossible. Not only was it impossible for her to focus on her target that far back through the mist, but Zabuza was constantly bathed in his chakra in the surrounding mist. She would have to completely overide the Mist to cast a genjutsu on him. And she simply didn't have the chakra reserves to achieve such a feat. The genin had varying reaction. Sakura, Hinata and Tenten formed a fromation around Tazuna to protect him as best they could.

The remaining six rushed forwards to attack Zabuza's apprentice. They were intercepted. By a man. He was a tall and lean man with a short beard, mustache and sideburns that point upwards.

He wore black and red ornate clothing with a crucifix pendant which gave him the appearance of a Spanish swordsman. His attire consisted of a wide-brimmed black hat decorated with a large plume, and a long, open black coat with no shirt underneath, with red, flower-patterned sleeves and collar. He wore white pants held up by a decorated belt and tucked inside overly large boots in comparison to his leg size.

He wore a kogatana around his neck, appearing as a golden cross-shaped necklace, and carried a sword on his back. His large sword, which was kept on his back, had a curved black blade, and was also in the shape of a crucifix, with a golden handguard decorated by red beads , and a hilt wrapped in bandages, with a particularly big bead at his extremity.

His sword left his back as he stared at those around him before it swirled in a wide arch. Naruto ducked down under Wei's fist, the man's blood sailing through the air before splattering in multiple places. The older man jumped away from his fellow Mei clansmen in a back hand spring vault before he came to his feet, eyes shining sadistically. His right hand came up and he snapped his fingers audibly. The blood that had splattered over so many services exploded violently. Naruto fought the urge to wince as a piece of his pants disintergrated, leaving a burn mark on his leg.

Naruto's ears perked up as he heard Maito Gai's genin, Lee, release a scream of anguish. Naruto glanced over his left shoulder to examine the situation that the group of genin had found themselves in. His eyes widened to considerable proportions. Lee's leg had been sliced open and he was no doubt incapacitated for the remainder of the battle. Naruto couldn't care less about that fact. No, it was the man that had accomplished this that worried Naruto. "Dracule... Mihawk..." The man didn't look to observe Naruto. He seemed completely oblivious to him as a matter of fact.

That wasn't good. Dracule Mihawk was world reknowned and for very specific reasons. He had garnered the title 'Greatest Swordsman in the World'. It was a feat just to recieve the title greatest anything in the world of shinobi. But for a man who relied solely on Kenjutsu to have garnered such a title... And it wasn't that shinobi hadn't tried to kill the man. They had. But it was almost as if he had mystic powers. Flames didn't burn him, electricity didn't shock him, water did drown him, Earth couldn't crush him and wind couldn't blow him away. Unless it was a strict Kenjutsu battle, you had no hopes of defeating Dracule Mihawk.

And therein lied the problem. He was the World's Greatest Swordsmen. You had to match his natural ability of the sword and then pass it. The fact that he was on Tazuna's bridge, facing off against the people on Naruto's side... It wasn't good. Wei's insane laughter brought Naruto back to reality as he didged underneath another barrage of crimson. "Do you truly want to die this early on in the fight, Naruto!? Keep your attention solely on me so I can enjoy your death that much more!"

Haku narrowed his eyes at the sudden appearance of Dracule Mihawk. Gato had become extremely paranoid after Zabuza defeat. Erratically so. He had went off the deep end in paranoia and refused to entrust his safety in any amount of men. He had continously hired high ranked mercenaries and pirates. These mercenaries and pirates included, but were not limited to, Zabuza himself, Wei, a man by the name of Shinji, and then most recently Mihawk. Mihawk was a danger to anyone who encountered him in battle.

Zabuza had tried to best him upon his arrival into Gato's folds. He had found himself waiting another extra day before he could attack the bridge, only serving to infuriate Gato even more. Haku hadn't believed it, and he had watched the battle with his own eyes. Zabuza had thrown every jutsu he had at Mihawk, and it was as if none of them had any effect on him whatsoever. Zabuza had held his own for the longest time in a one on one kenjutsu battle, but in the end, he hadn't been a better swordsmen than Dracule.

As Mihawk lurched forwards, his foot slamming into the insect user's abdomen, Haku rushed forwards to join in on the battle. The dog user jumped through the air, only to almost have himself cleaved in half by Mihawk's weapon. Haku's foot slammed violently into the Uchiha's abdomen before he jumped into the air, his foot crashing into the male Hyuga's skull. As they both stumbled off to the same side of the bridge, Haku followed suit after them. Mihawk could handle the three genin that remained active and not guarding their client. Haku would destroy the male Kekkei Genkai users.

Miya's sword slashed through the air, Mitsuha's whip wrapping around it violently. The whip tried to tug the weapon away, though was again sliced into pieces as Miya continued on her path to kill the blond haired girl. Said girl cried out in fear as she jumped away. Miya almost did catch the glint. Her sword came up and blocked another as a male appeared within her vision. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she stared at the man before her, guarding the Sekirei behind him.

The figure was a tall man with messy silver colored hair and grey eyes. His outfit consisted of black pants and a long sleeved shirt of the same color. The shirt was open in the front, stopping just a few inches below his solar plexus, with crisscrossing bands of leather forming an 'X'. The sleeves near his shoulders had a single band around them of the same leather material. Sitting almost lazily on his waist was a belt that looked more like an accessory than an actually functioning belt. It sat slightly askew, the left side riding lower on his hip than the right, and the ends were tied together by a leather string. The only other distinguishing features about his clothing was the black fingerless gloves he was wearing, and the scarf he had wrapped around his neck and shoulders.

Miya allowed a low growling noise to exit her throat as she easily overpowered the new appearance, sending him stumbling away. "Mutsu." The man said nothing as both he, and Mitsuha who now sported a new face filled with confidence, both rushed towards Miya. The purple haired woman grolwed angrily again as her sword clashed with Mutsu's, sending him stumbling to the side, before she lashed out with a violent kick to the blond haired girl's mid section. Mitsuha fell to her knees, completely out of breath.

Akitsu stumbled backwards. Though she kept her face impassive as always, fear welled deeply inside of her. Karasuba contiued her slow leisurely walk towards the frightened girl. None of her attacks had landed. They had all been deflected and decimated. She had no chance whatsoever against the higher ranking member of their clan. The gray haired woman halted in her tracks suddenly as she glance in Miya's direction. She was now battling both of Wei's Sekirei. Winning, but having to rush back and forth between them to keep them from outclassing her.

Karasuba made a noise from her chest as she turned away from Akitsu, her eyes glancing at her over her shoulder as her all too familiar sadistic smile overtook her features. "Don't mistake this for mercy, okay? I'm going to come back over here and finish this. You shouldn't have attacked my Ashikabi. That was your fatal mistake." As the gray haired woman walked towards her Discipline Squad comrade, Akitsu rushed forwards to keep the numbers in their favor. A new figure appeared in front of her.

Naruto dodged down underneath a vicious kick from Wei. He followed this quick weave with a kick of his own, which crashed harshly into Wei's side. The man stumbled to the side and sent another wave of blood in his direction. He was barely able to preform a back bend quick enough to avoid the liquid covering his body. Wei jumped forwards, his knee crashing into Naruto's face, sending him staggering across the bridge. Blood continued to dribble onto the bridge, staining it. The man threw his blood at Naruto's feet, quickly snapping his fingers. More portions of the bridge exploded, Naruto almost falling through.

To the side, Tazuna sank to his knees as he sobbed violently. "My bridge!" He cried out as the three genin kunoichi guarding his body looked over their shoulders at him. "My beautiful bridge! All of my hard work! And it was all for nothing! You're all ruining my bridge! This was my last day of construction! Damn it! Damn you all! Kakashi-San, Hero mode!" Sakura sighed at the man's ignorance. Even in an undrunken state, he still believed that Kakashi had defeated a horde of aliens on multiple occasions.

"Listen here you bastard!" Tenten growled viciously at there client as the chained weapons in her hands were twirled with expertise. "My comrades, no, my _friends_ are out there fighting a battle that we weren't prepared for! Lee is injured, I can see his body from him, not that I couldn't hear him _screaming_! And there's nothing that I can do for them! Because I have to stay here and guard you, a man who lied about a mission and now is going to have blood on his hands no mater who dies on this bridge! I hope you're satisfied with this entire scenario!"

Mihawk caught Kiba by his throat, sending him flying over the edge of the bridge. He would have plummeted down to his death if the visage of an ink bird hadn't flew underneath him, carrying both he and Sai. Insects swarmed around the swordsmen, though he paid them no heed as his foot slammed into Shino's gut. The Aburame doubled over in pain, Sai barely saving him as he swooped by and dropping off Kiba from almost being skewered. Kiba's dog, Akamaru lurched through the air, though Mikawk kicked it away.

Kiba cried out indignantly as he rushed forwards, only for Mihawk to slam his fist into the boy's solar plexus. As he stumbled backwards, Mihawk's eyes narrowed. Something was wrong. He turned around, just in time, for Yugito's claws to sink down the front of his chest. His face betrayed no pain as blood spilled from the wounds. His sword arched through the air to cleave the girl in half. It stopped in mid swing as Yugito caught it with two hook swords. Naruto's two hook swords. The man smirked as he yanked on his sword violently, sending both swords over the edge of the bridgeto plummet down to the freezing waters below. His fist collided with Yugito's cheeks, sending her stumbling along the pavement.

Needles pierced Neji and Sasuke's bodies mercilessly. The boy, Haku, had caught them both in his signature Ice Mirrors before proceeding to send barrage after barrage of both regular, and ice, senbon needles into their bodies. Their apendages now seemed to bear a great resemblance to pin cushions. "Do you honestly believe you can defeat me? Your Byakugan doesn't help you here. You know where I am, but you can't comprehend where I'm going. And your Sharingan, the one you've awoken, you may be able to comprehend where I'm going, but you don't know where I am inside the mirrors. You two would need to fuse to defeat me.

"I must tell you, I commend you for your efforts. Trying to save Tazuna. It was a truly heroic thing to believe in. But I fight for someone precious to me. I fight for the only man who wanted me as a tool. You fight for money, and a man you know absolutely nothing about. A drunk who doesn't care if you live or die inside of these mirrors. I bid ado to you both. I wish we had met in a different life. Perhaps we could have been comrades. Friends even. Goodbye, Uchiha, Hyuga."

Kakashi dodged underneath a vicious arch from Kubikiribocho. Gai rushed forwards to take the swordsman by surprise, only to find the butt of the Demon of the Bloody Mist's sword planted firmly in his gut. Gai doubled over as Kurenai rushed forwards to attack Zabuza with a kunai knife. Before she could reach him, his foot slammed into her face, sending her slidding along the concrete pavement as he added chakra to the force. Gai came from his position and recieved the same type of attack, sending him stumbling away.

Zabuza gave a back swing, Kakashi ducking underneath the man's sword. Zabuza halted the blade in mid swing and brought it in a wide arch towards the silver haired Jonin's chest. Kakashi dodged backwards, twice, as the sword attempted to cleave him in two. Zabuza apparently ended the barrage as he shoved the weapon forwards in an attempt to impale Kakashi upon it. The silver haired mask wearer ducked down before jumping back into the air, his fist slamming into the man's chin, sending him stumbling away. The man chuckled sadistically as he glared into Kakashi's Sharingan eye. "So it seems that you can see the future." Kakashi's heated glare remained on Zabuza's own.

"That's right, Zabuza. I can. As a matter of fact, I'm looking into it right now."

"Oh? And what is my future?"

"You don't have a future, Zabuza. Because you die today!" Zabuza chuckled again as he allowed a grolw to escape his throat.

"I'm sick of your bullshit Kakashi!"

Naruto's fist slammed into Wei's fast before he slid to the ground, swiping the older man's feet straight out from underneath him. Wei flipped in mid air, landing back on his feet, more blood flying from his continous flow of ammunition. Naruto found part of his hoodie disintergrating as his clansman snapped his thum and index finger together. "You may as well concede here, Naruto. While you've been doing the exact same thing, I've grown better." Naruto frowned deeply. He wished to end this immediately. Naruto reached over his shoulder and unsheathed his dual Dao swords, one in a normal grip and the other in a reverse grip. "Same old dog... Same old tricks."

Naruto rushed forwards, slicing at Wei's abdomen. The man dodged backwards away from the first sword, and narrowly avoided the second from beheading him. Naruto's foot lashed out and slammed into the man's gut, causing him to double over in pain. Naruto's knee rose and smashed into the man's face, sending him stumbling backwards. The Hei clansman growled in rage as he threw his blood in a wide arch. The bridge was in a continuos explosion as Wei screamed in an insane rage. "You die today, Naruto! There's no more avoiding it! Today, there will be one less member of the Hei clan!"

Naruto dodged underneath a vicious kick from the man and grinned viciously. "Chidori Nagashi!" Black lightning shot out from his body viciously. Pain erupted throughout Wei as he jumped away. He wasn't one to get killed so easily by such a trick. A grin spread out over the elfish man's face as he panted heavily in pain.

"So old dogs _can_ learn new tricks!"

"The only dogs here are you and that Konoha scum!" Naruto's foot collided with Wei's temple, sending him stumbling across the bridge towards the railing. Wei snarled viciously and sent his blood towards Naruto. The platinum/blond haired boy screamed violently as a near explosions caught his body. Falling to his knee, Naruto grunted from exursion as Wei glared heatedly at him. The elfish man rushed forwards and allowed his foot to crash into Naruto's face, sending him rolling backwards along the concrete.

Naruto stumbled back to his feet as he brandished his swords, more blood flying in his direction. The whisker marked Ashikabi dropped his swords quickly and dodged away as as Wei's power claimed them. With a heated snarl, Naruto removed the Dao's sheath from his back, throwing it in the Man's direction. Wei lifted his forearm up and deflected the sheat. His teeth clenched and his eyes shut as he found it weighed more than expected. Naruto's sandal crashed into his face, before he screamed, kicking the whisker marked shinobi in the temple. Naruto crumbled to the ground.

Wei stood over his fellow clansman and held his bleeding arm over Naruto's form. As it threatened to spill down on his form, Naruto's feet shot up and crashed into his chin. The man stumbled away, holding his mouth as pain flared up throughout it. Naruto spun onto his feet, glaring angrily as Wei came to a halt. The man moved his low jaw with an audible crack. His sadistic grin widened as he observed the blood splatters that had found their way onto Naruto's face. Wei raised his hand up dramatically as Naruto's eyes widened in comprehension.

"Now we know. Who exactly was the better Contractor all this time? Me. I've always been the better contractor and... And I've proved it today! Die you damn brat! Die and go to hell!" His fingers snapped audibly one final time. Naruto's skull flew backwards and his body stumbled. The he tripped over the railing of the bridge, his body plummeting down to the frigid seas below with his Hook Swords. Wei laughed maniacally as he looked away from the railing that Naruto's body had fallen over.

After all of these years, he had finally proven that he was better than Naruto. His years as a contractor, Naruto had been seen as better than him. As a Hei clansman, Naruto had been seen as better than him because he had no true payment. It was unknown if he had completed his contract or some other means. As a shinobi, Naruto had been seen as better. The platinum/blond haired boy had had to be better than him at everything. It had drove him past the brink of insanity.

It had became his entire life's goal to beat Naruto. And he finally had. But not only had he just beaten Naruto... He had killed him. His greatest desire had finally come to fruition. All of the years he had spent as a rogue shinobi had been worth it, just to see the look of shock that had been upon the boy's features as he knew that doom was descending on him. That no longer was he the greatest contractor, Hei clansmen, nor greatest anything. He was simply a pest that Wei had finally, gratefully, rid the world of. There would be consequences for his action, yes, but that didn't take away from the pride of his accomplishments. He turned in his place and watched as Naruto's Sekirei battled his own.

Akitsu continued to back away from the newest arrival in shock. The woman wore the same outfit as Naruto's two Sekirei. She had brown eyes and a brown hair. Her hair was hime-styled; it had short bangs, chin-length strands surrounded her head and framing her face, a single antenna-like strands that hung just above her head, and hip-length hair at the nape of her neck. She wore gloves on her hands that brandished the number '08'. "Now, now, It's against Minaka Clan Laws to attack Sekirei in uneven numbers. One on One. Two on Two. And Three on Three. I don't appreciate you attacking my soon to be Ashikabi, Akitsu." The woman looked left, then right, and then finally bowed down.

She knew when she was outclassed. The members of the Disciplinary Squad were members for very specific reasons. Normal Sekirei didn't have a chance in beating them. And though Akitsu was a higher number and more attuned to her natural power, the woman before her was stronger. Especially considering physicality. Karasuba glanced over her shoulder at the arrival and smiled, her eyes closing. "About time you got here, Yume. What took you so long? I thought that we were going to have to finish this battle without you."

Wei's narrowed dangerously. Not at the fact that Akitsu had bowed out. No, he had expected as much. She wasn't very keen on fighting to begin with. It wasn't even the fact that his Sekirei were losing to Naruto's. No, that was their problem. If he remembered correctly, Mutsu and Mitsuha had explained that the bond was so strong between a Sekirei and Ashikabi, that when the Ashikabi died, so did their Sekirei. There in was the problem. If Naruto was dead, then by process of elimination his Sekirei should have been terminated. Was it different for them, because they were single numbers, or part of the Discipline Squad? Wei's eyes widened as he felt the presence behind him.

It was too late for him though, as he felt a hand land upon his skull. "So this is it?" Wei questioned as he stood shock still, looking ahead of himself. "How did you do it? How did you escape my Contractor's abilities?" No words came out of Naruto's mouth as he stood behind his former comrade, friend and brother. He simply raised his arm and allowed Wei to see a small cut on his forearm through his peripheral vision. Wei's eyes gained a glazed look as he thought back to his battle with his former clansmen. They widened.

_The whisker marked Ashikabi dropped his swords quickly and dodged away as as Wei's power claimed them. As they fell to the ground, the left sword barely nicked Naruto's arm._

_Wei stood over his fellow clansman and held his bleeding arm over Naruto's form. As it threatened to spill down on his form, Naruto's feet shot up and crashed into his chin. The man stumbled away, holding his mouth as pain flared up throughout it. The blond/platinum haired shinobi dotted his bleeding arm across his face before Naruto spun onto his feet, glaring angrily as Wei came to a halt._

"It was your own blood..." Wei whispered in astonishment. "... I can't believe I fell for that. How naive can you possibly be...? No... No! I refuse to die like this! I will not-" As Wei made to spin on his heels and send more of his acidic blood towards Naruto, electricity seemed to be channeled through Naruto's body and into Wei's. The man screamed violently as he felt every single piece of DNA molecules inside of hi body being fried by the currents. Naruto's eyes lost any resemblance to a being with life. His facial features lost all the abilities to show his emotions and remained impassive.

Then, Naruto released Wei, watching with no sign of remorse, happiness, pride, anger, hate nor any other resemblance of a feeling emotion upon his face. As Wei's body crashed violently to the ground, Wei's two Sekirei' screamed violently as their crests burned brightly. Then they faded like ash in the wind and their bodies toppled over onto the ground, dead. Naruto paid this no heed as he glanced in the direction of his Sekirei, and the two others. They were preparing to leave. Raising his hand, Naruto pointed to Akitsu. "Her... Don't kill her." Miya nodded in response as the brown haired woman hauled Akitsu to her feet. And then the Sekirei were all gone. Naruto remained impassive.

Glancing over, Naruto took in the battle that was occuring between Kakashi and Zabuza. Gai had been incapacitated and Kurenai was completely unconscious. Kakashi shook his head and motioned towards the Konohagakure genin squads. "Don't worry about me! Take care of them! They're all out classed right now!" The silver haired Jonin called out to him as he nodded in response. Naruto brought his thumb up to his lips before his teeth tore into it, drawing blood. His face never betrayed his pain. He flexed his right them to the far side of his ride hand before sliding it right to left, leaving behind a trail of blood.

Immediately there was a plume of smoke as Naruto held his right arm outstretched. In his grip, Kagari's katana had appeared. It was his most precious sword. And the only one he had left to fight against Mihawk with. A grimace set over his features as he rushed forwards to intercept the man's deathstroke on Naruto's own partner, Yugito.

Mihawk's impassive face betrayed no emotions as his sword swung in an arch down towards the Kumogakure kunoichi's throat. The stroke was halted in the process, however, as a Katana sword caught his blade. The sword twirled sideways and almost, almost, sent Mihawk stumbling to the side. His eyes narrowed slightly as Naruto stood before him, facial features mimicking his own cold impassive exterior. The katana was gripped tightly in one hand, while the sheath was gripped in his left. "Your battle is with me now, Dracule Mihawk." The two swords clashed together violently as Naruto struck out with his sheath. Mihawk caught the piece and held on firmly. Naruto's foot lashed out at his mid section, causing him to jump backwards, releasing the sheath.

Naruto rushed forwards. As Mihawk brought his sword down to meet Naruto's, the platinum/blond haired boy feinted to the right, his scabbard rising to meet the blade. Mihawk's blade sliced straight through Naruto's sword's sheath as Naruto's katana came in a sideways arch to slice the reknowned swordsman in half. Almost as if the sword was moving at the speed of light, Mihawk's was protecting him from the devastating blow. He shoved backwards harshly, causing Naruto to stumble. The whisker marked Ashikabi raised his weapons up to block a vicious blow from the weapon. A large crack webbed throughout the weapon.

A sharp cry rang out from Sakura position as Naruto lurched away from Mihawk. His blue eyes glanced over briefly. Zabuza's apprentice had sent a barrage of needles at Kakashi's Uchiha and Gai's Hyuga. Upon seeing this, Hinata had broken away from the formation formed by the kunoichi and had intercepted the attack for her cousin and the Uchiha. She now lay, between the two, apparently dead. Naruto was not moved by the sight. His sword rose up and clashed once again with Mihawk's own as the man stared into his eyes. "You're better than I expected you to be." Naruto said nothing as he spun, once again almost splitting the man in half. Mihawk's sword descended down upon Naruto's head.

Neji and Sasuke stood side by side as they panted. Their different Dojutsus met momentarily and for a moment, they shared a bond of sort. A mental telepathy that would finally allowed them to defeat their opponent. And it traced back to something that he had said. "Is this the first time you've seen a comrade die in battle?" Haku questioned from his mirror, breaking the two mental bond. "Don't worry. You'll be joining her in the afterlife, very soon." Haku broke from his mirrors. Neji's eyes flashed. Third Mirror!"

"Going to the fifth, fourty five degrees right!" The two lurched forwards, grabbing ahold of the brown haired boys arms, yanking him to the ground violently where Sasuke's knee crashed into his skull, splintering his mask into pieces. Haku rolled along the ground before coming to a stop on all fours. His eyes stared at the ground in pure shock.

"How...?" He breathed as his Ice Mirrors collapsed into small puddles of water.

"I could see you, but couldn't track you."

"I could track you, but I couldn't see you."

"You said the only way for us to beat you was to merge or Kekkei Genkai. That wasn't true. We just had to use them in unison to find you." Haku bowed his head humbly.

"Then you've defeated me. Kill me."

"What?! You want to die?"

"I am but a tool to Zabuza-Sama. A broken tool now. If you will not honor my by giving me death, I will be forced to dihonor myself with death." Sasuke's eyes widened. He couldn't quite comprehend this concept. Neji, however, could. He himself had felt that way many times. If he fell in battle, he was sure to ask that exact same question. Neji stepped forwards, the veins from his Kekkei Genkai bulging as he aimed at Haku's heart.

"This blow will do as you request. For what it's worth..." The Hyuga spoke, "I wish we could have met in another life as well. You and I, we seem to be cut from the same material. Goodbye, apprentice of Zabuza." Neji struck forwards with his gentle fist, preparing to run his fist through Haku's chest. The brown eyed boy's eyes widened as he heard the sound of a thousand birds chirping, blue lightning flashing throughout the area. With lightning fast relfexes, Haku caught the Hyuga's wrist, causing his eyes to mimick Haku's own action.

"I'm sorry. My master has use for me one final time." And then the boy was gone, leaving Neji and Sasuke behind to guard Hinata's body. He reappeared in front of Zabuza's body as Kakashi's hand, covered in lightning, rammed through his chest. "Raikiri!" His sharingan eye widened out of instict as Zabuza grinned widly beneath his bandages. Kubikiribocho was raised high in the air, prepared to cleave Kakashi and his now dead apprentice in half.

Naruto raised his Katana just in time to keep Mihawk's sword from cleaving into his skull. The as the older man's blade rebounded off of his own, the katana shattered into thousands of tiny shards. The only emotion Naruto displayed was the widening of his eyes. The sword of his brother, the only memory he had left of him... Gone. Mihawk's sword slammed through the teen's gut in victory. Just before he exploded, though the shards of the sword remained, sending the greatest swordsman flying into the railing of the bridge. "A clone!"

"Raikiri!" Naruto's hand, covered in black lightning, pierced through Zabuza's chest from his back. The sounds of two thousand chirping birds slowly died down as Naruto wrenched his hand free of Zabuza's body. The man fell forwards, removing his own hand from haku, before he collapsed on top of his deceased apprentice. Kubikiribocho clanged to the ground as Naruto rolled his neck before glaring across the bridge at Mihawk. "That may have been a clone you were fight..." Naruto bent down slightly and retrieved Zabuza's fallen blade. "... But the sword...?"

Light emanted from Kubikiriocho as Naruto felt it drawing on his chakra, changing itself to meet its newest masters requirements. "That sword belonged to someone I considered my brother. And it was real. Now, now you're going to pay, Dracule Mihawk!" Kubikiribocho had now completely changed its form. It now resembled a Claymore. It was a large double-edged sword of unknown weight and composition with a sharpened hilt. It was a rather large sword, so it appeared that Kubikribocho was stuck with always being a rather massove sword no matter its master requirements. As Naruto brandished the weapon, clapping rang out over the clearing, stopping anymore battles from commencing.

"Great show! Great show!" A man called as Zabuza's mist slowly faded away into nothingness. It revealed the clapping man, surrounded by an army of mercenaries and pirates. The man was rather short, wearing a business suit and glasses, as well as having a walking cane the he held at the top in both hands. "It's so touching. Little fucking brats getting slaughtered left and right. Bitches dying for a man who's so insane he thought he was above death. And best of all, those two dying! Zabuza and that boy! What a pain in my ass they were! I have to thank you all, you tied up some rather loose ends for me."

"Gato." Mihawk mumbled, the man snickering in response. "What are you doing here, Gato? Why do you have all of those mercenaries?"

"Come on now, Mihawk, you're not that dumb! I don't intend on paying you. I don't intend on paying your little pirate crew. I never did. All I intend to do, is finish you off, and all of these men. This bridge will crumble into the waters below us, simply because it should not exist. It is a threat to me... Me!" Gato's nose curled in disgust as he gave everyone on the bridge, dead, alive or otherwise, a once over. "And once your dead and this bridge is gone, there are going to be some consequences.

"The men behind me? They're going to raid that stupid, puny little village that you all fought so hard to free. And all of you little ladies running around? Well I'm going to sell you on the black market. _After_ I've had my turn. I always get first dibs on the freshest meat, don't you know?" The man laughed again as the mercenaries began to edge forwards, anticipating their battle. Mihawk chuckled. "What? What's so funny? You've been decieve Mihawk! You're about to die!"

"No, Gato... You've been decieved. I never trusted you. The only reason that I accepted your little bounty is because I saw that boy walking around the village with his swords. I'm always looking for promising swordsmen. Look behind you, Gato." The man's head swiveled as his eyes widened as he found a rather large band of pirates cutting off any escape from their edge of the bridge. Chakra washed over Gato, forcing him to return his vision back to those in front of him.

Multiple clones had been spawned from a multitude of people. Blueish chakra roamed around Yugito's body freely as her nails elongated. High above, Naruto's Sekirei had returned, along with Yume and Akitsu, and were standing back atop the same crane that they had previously. On the far side of the bridge, away from Gato, the entire village of the Land of Waves had arrived with various makeshift weapons. Gato released a choking sound. "Do you get it now, Gato?" Mihawk questioned as the mercenaries tensed. "You've been outsmarted!"

Hell seemed to be unleashed once again on the bridge as the mercenaries rushed forwards. Mihawk and Naruto rushed and met them head on, their two massive swords cleaving through them as those around took care of any that they left behind. As they rushed forwards towards Gato, the group of pirates behind him did so as well. And it wasn't long before the two sword wielders were standing before Gato. The rather fat man produced a sword from insdie his cane and struck out at Mihawk. Naruto's claymore destroyed the flimsy blade, Mihawk kicking the man to his knees. "Wait, please! I'll give you anything... Anything, just don't kill-" As he glanced up, his eyes pleading for life, the two massive swords sliced through him in an 'X' fashion. His body fell away into four seperate pieces.

Mihawk glanced over at Naruto as two more pirates, red haired and green haired respectively, came to stand beside him. "Sorry about your sword, Kid. I'll get you a replacement." Naruto shook his head as he slung his new claymore of his shoulder with one hand. The weapon seemed to simply hold in place as Naruto's nostrils flared angrily.

"There's no replacing that sword."

That Night, Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously as the door to his room opened slowly. Though his brow furrowed in confusion as Homura allowed her head to poke through the door. "We need to talk."

"About what?" Naruto questioned as his head fell back onto his pillow.

"My brother..."

And so the mission continued onwards. Nothing rather spectacular happened, what with their enemies having been defeated. Most of Konoha's squadron members had to take time to heal themselves from the battle. Lee had yet to fully recover as all shinobi stood on the newly finished bridged. Naruto himself had spent much time with Mihawk and the two pirates that had stood behing him on the bridge, whom he had come to know as Shanks and Roronoa Zoro. Naruto had held hated feelings for the pirate upon the devastating loss of his katana. But, things had been patched up between the two swordsmen as the three pirates trained Naruto in different ways of the sword.

Naruto's eyes fell on Mihawk as the pirate nodded from the crowd that had gather to see all of the shinobi off. "Don't forget kid, if you ever want to quit being a shinobi, come find me. You'd make a great pirate."

Yume, the brown haired woman from the bridge, had Naruto wing her as his Sekirei. Now all three of his Sekirei, along with Matsu and Homura, since they had stated they preferred not to stay at Izumo Inn alone, stood alongside Naruto, preparing to depart. "This is where we depart!" Gai spoke as he flashed a smile. Naruto almost rolled his eyes as they fell over the statue dedicated to the shinobi assembled. Everyone stood together in the statue. Except Naruto. He stood approximately three feet apart from the others in the statue.

"Yes, this is where we depart." Kakashi spoke as he stepped away from his comrades and torwards Naruto. Kurenai's eyes flared as she saw this.

"Kakashi! What are you doing!?" The man smiled grimly at her beneath his mask.

"What I'm destined to do." He stated simply as he reached back and began untying his hiatate from around his skull. "I'm returning with Naruto to Kumo, and I'm going to adopt him there as my son. And then I'll watch over him, like I should've been allowed to do all along. You all know nothing of the pain I've suffered for fourteen years. I will not suffer it any longer knowing that I can make a difference in his life." The hiatate fell away from his face as Naruto produced an eye patch, which he placed over his Sharingan eye. "It's what Minato sensei would have wanted.

"So you can take this." The Konoha Hiatate fell to the ground in front of the Konohagakure shinobi's feet. "And give it to the Hokage as my resignation."

"Don't do this Kakashi!" Gai warned as he stepped forwards to grab ahold of his eternal rival. And then all of the shinobi heading towards Kumogkure were gone.

And thus, the Raikage found himself staring at the large group of shinobi, his desk smashed. "I ask for assassination and you bring shinobi home with you like stray dogs! I don't have time for this. Your... Harem is safe inside the village, and free to do as they wish outside, as you've asked. Kakashi will be instated as a shinobi, but will be on temporary probation as precaution. You will be the one observing him since you brought him here. He will be allowed to adopt you, after his probation is over. Now, everyone but Naruto, you're dismissed... Well...? Get out of my office!"

Naruto's eyes fell on the Raikage's agitated form. There was something that was disturbing him deeply. Naruto didn't know what it was exactly, but it was there. The sensor shinobi could see it in his eyes. "What do you need to speak to me about A-Sama? I'm sorry if the sudden intrusion of shinobi in our village has upset you." Silence reigned out through the room as A moved a piece of his desk aside, reaching under it to produce an all too familiar mask.

The platinum/blond haired shinobi's eyes widened in disbelief as he stumbled backwards in shock. "I'm reinstating you as a Contractor Shinobi... BK-201..." Naruto released a shaky breath as he shook his head slightly, reaching forwards to take his former mask from the Raikage's grasp.

"Whatever for?" The Raikage glanced at you a rleased a long drawn out exhale of breath.

"I never thought I'd have to say this. Never thought that you would have to go through this. Never even passed my mind that you would ever have to don this mask again. Especially for something such as this. I'm sorry Naruto. I truly am. Maybe I should have foreseen it coming. Naruto, on their mission, Ginkaku and Kinkaku were captured. They're being held hostage near Kusagakure No Sato. We don't negotiate. Your task, BK-201, is to retrieve them before the time of the Chunin Exams."

And that's it for this chapter! I'm done with the Land of Waves Arch! I planned to have it drawn out longer but I was like man I can't do this anymore. I'm so tired of typing now that it's not even funny. It's why I rushed the last few paragraphs. Like, I was going to go in depth of their stay after the battle but I couldn't do it. I'm so bored typing that it's not fun. Don't expect ANY updates for a while. Typing for four days straight kind of gets to you eventually. So, here's a few things. I added One Piece in as a crossover too. As you can see by the three pirates. Naruto's sword? It's a Claymore (sword) from Claymore (Anime) used by Claymores (Species).

Do you guys know how difficult it is for me to write a chapter strictly in battle basically? I got so bored about half way through it. I mean, at first I was just firing off and then I got halfways to about 20 KB's and I was about to just give up... I didn't... But I wanted. Anyways, I hope someone enjoyed the chapters I wrote, if not, oh well... I tried... I'm not the best fanfiction writer, you know?

Also, if you guys have any ideas, send em to me. Missions Naruto can go on, battles that he can get into, adventures he can go on. Maybe weapons that he can procure. I'm not sure. If you want to see some type of anime incorperated into the story in some way shape or form, let me know and I'll try my best to get it done. P. S, the only pairings set in stone are the three Sekirei Naruto has winged. I was gonna have him with Yugito, but then I decided to cross the story over and things got a little muddy. I was also going to have him with Matsu, but decided better on it. Homura is in though. I've been setting up to that. So if you want to see a pairing let me know. Just keep in mind, It's a small Harem at most. I'm not wanting to even put five girls with Naruto. So yeah, that's about everything that I have in mind right now. So...

I guess... Goodbye for now? I don't know, just don't expect no quick updates on anything...


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